Daffodil
by akihiko-senpai
Summary: Long ago Cam learned how to identify people by the flower they were most like, but Lillian is impossible to categorize. After all, who knows when she's being real and when she's putting on an act? This time, however, Cam is willing to take on an impossible task and find out not only who she is, but whether he has any say in the answer.
1. Anemone

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own Harvest Moon or anything associated with it._

_**Author's Note**__: I know that flower themes for Cam are ridiculously overrated, but I can't help it in this case hahaha. I'm gonna be clichéd and do flower everything! A lot of people have wanted me to write a Cam/Lillian story and I have an insane amount of free time at college because my classes are spread far apart throughout Tuesday and Thursday, so I thought I could use that time to pen said story (using the fiction writing skills I'm picking up for the fiction writing class I have in an hour!). Confession: Admiration was supposed to be a Cam/Lil story. It turned into Ash/Lil when I grew to love him. This time will not be like that haha! I've completely rehauled this story from my initial drafts too, so if I've mentioned this to you know it's a bit different now. :P I'm excited to write a full-fledged story for this pairing (considering Cam was my husband in-game) and I hope everyone else is psyched to read it. Thanks for checking out this story, enjoy! (:_

* * *

_ Daffodils are synonymous for spring and new beginnings. There is a belief that he who spots the first daffodil of the spring will have a lucky year._

* * *

When Laney was younger, her favorite game was one you could play only with Cam – one that soon Ash and Georgia and even the adults were constantly clamoring to participate in. She called it "Who am I?" though Ash said that was a stupid name, and do you even get the entire point of the game? Cam, who was a year older than all of his friends, and when he first moved to Bluebell vastly more mature then them, would have pointed out that there was absolutely no point other than to calm Laney's constant chatter. The premise of the game was that Cam would study each of his friends and tell them which flower they were most like in general or that day or if they did this or if they were their complete opposite.

But nobody ever bothered to tell Cam which flower he was like. "I don't know enough about flowers," Ash would say in his most apologetic voice. "So can you tell me what flower I'm being like right now, then?"

Now that Cam was nineteen years old and his closest friends official adults, Who am I was no longer a fun game to play. It was something they laughed about and rolled their eyes when they thought about. Unbeknownst to them, Cam continued to play the game – and his answers were still constantly changing. Every day he saw new facets of the people he had grown up around as they strived for adulthood. Ash, for example, was often better suited as a larkspur; they were well known to symbolize an open heart and a fun-loving person. Cam was trapped, however, in that the larkspur was poison, and his best friend was usually not poison – except for when he pretended he didn't notice Georgia's feelings for him, when he instead continued his silent reverie and hoped that the feelings would fade away. Laney was like a hibiscus; delicate, beautiful, albeit rather dull. Like when she did the same thing every day he returned to Howard's shop, and it wasn't so bad to know she was there waiting for him, but it was a little bad to know exactly how she'd look at him and what she'd say and when she would open up the fridge and pull out her latest sweet and do you want some? I have leftovers from what I gave to Georgia and Ash. Georgia was a gladioulus – striking and strong, but hopelessly infatuated and prone to giving allergic reactions and occasional poisonings in interactions with them, the same as Georgia's blunt words and upfront feelings, which were dangerous if handled for too long.

Cam thought he had everything perfectly planned out. As a florist, he could easily decipher the character of anyone who attempted to speak to him by comparing them to a flower and moving from there. With his typical lack of prowess when it came to conversational skills and his curt words that made it sound like he was finished talking before he begun, throwing in an anchor to hold onto carried him through the drifting waves of people who wanted to converse. But when he met Lillian and found no flower came to mind to describe her, he was lost.

Lillian was everything at once. She was beautiful in a backwards way – clothes that were a little too big in some places and a little too tight in others but well-made and suited to her eyes, eyes that were a strange violet shade but suggested depth that you wouldn't grasp from her voice, her voice that rose too high when she laughed and fell too low when she was upset, and copper hair that covered her face until she blew it away and smiled at you, with a smile that brought together everything incorrect and righted it, and somehow she was gorgeous. Laney had been Bluebell's beauty for years, and Lillian looked absolutely nothing like her. Whereas Laney was polished and modest, Lillian was raggedy and an appearance that should have come across as unassertive was worn with farm work and suggested a deeper person than the girl that struggled to appear as vapid as possible. So why was she even prettier than Laney to him? Cam couldn't wrap his mind about what was an act and what was real, and was she really as ditzy as she acted yet able to rattle off the names of the herbs around her without hesitation?

When they met it was next to the river, right after you left Bluebell territory and far away from the enemy Konohana, where culture thrived along with Bluebell hate. She was crouched down, staring intently into the waters where a fish was surging back and forth before her. Initially Cam thought she was attempting to catch the fish bare-handed and stopped himself right at the entrance, worried he would take another step and throw off her concentration along with sending the fish skidding to a safe haven beneath a fallen tree that had become part of the river throughout the years. He waited five minutes for her to sweep her hand into the water and seize the fish, but that time never came. She continued to stare into the water until she was doing more than staring – she was crying, and the drops that struck the water sent the fish into hiding. Was this the girl Ash said never stopped laughing? Well, she was as pretty as Ash said she was, though Cam was growing close enough to see the random scars written across her skin and the way her hair parted to show a patch of her forehead and the nails that were cut too short.

"Are you alright?" he asked her. Cam's typical mantra was that staying out of other people's business was his utmost priority, but he couldn't help but inquire on the well-being of a girl who should have been the life of the town according to his friends but instead shed tears when it was only her first week away from home.

Lillian was clearly startled at the realization that she had an audience, but managed to thrust one hand into the river's depths and sturdy herself before she slid from the rock that upheld her. She didn't look at him for a moment, but her free hand was busying itself around her face and Cam knew she was probably trying to hide any evidence of tears. When she looked up, her face was perfectly clear – she wore no make-up, so black stains did not cover her face like Jessica's after watching a drama. "I'm good," she replied. "Are you Cam?"

"Uh, yeah. How did you…?"

"Ash told me a lot about you. You're a year older than him, Laney and Georgia; you always wear a cap with a houndstooth pattern and a tie that's never on exactly right; you don't talk very much either, apparently. He said you're his best friend."

"Is my tie really…?"

"I can fix it for you."

Cam watched her, stunned, as her fingers pulled each side of the tie, tightening and loosening and straightening until he felt uncomfortable enough to suggest his tie was no longer left astray, but fitted right like a groom's. "Thanks."

"No problem. It's my specialty."

"…Really."

"That was a joke."

"Ha…I see."

"Well, I'd better head back home." Lillian gathered her skirt and rose it enough to reveal feet with toenails painted a pastel shade of pink. Bare feet coated with a layer of grass and dirt. She tugged back on her yellow socks and then slid them into her boots. Cam waited to see if she was going to change her mind, suggest that they stopped and chatted for a moment – didn't Ash say that she asked if he wanted to take a walk and that was how he knew her so well? But when she had finished lacing up her boots, she didn't turn and invite him to take a stroll; instead she headed straight for the entrance that would lead back to Bluebell, back to her farm, away from him.

"Wait," Cam interrupted, turning to her with a puzzled frown. "Your name is Lillian, right? You're the new farmer…right?"

"How did _you_ know?" she asked, her eyes wide with suspicion. As Cam began to stumble over his answer she laughed, waving her hands before her in a harried gesture for him to give up his attempts of explanation. "I'm just kidding! You've lived here for a while, so of course if you know there's a new resident here named Lillian and then see a new person you'd come to the right conclusion. It's nice to meet you, Cam."

"It's nice to meet you too," he replied stiffly. Cam would like to say that in a better time he would have turned the conversation to what he had just seen, but that would be a lie. He was done – the conversation was over. He had exchanged the proper pleasantries, he had already called her back to wait once, and so he let her return to Bluebell with one tear still clinging to her cheek that she had missed in her sweep.

_Who is she?_ He wondered. Who was she really? Obviously she was Lillian, the new farmer, she had chosen Bluebell for some reason, she had violet eyes and chestnut hair, but did she also cry when she was alone and hide her misery from others? The melancholy expression she had turned to him with her last parting wave hung in his face, and he wondered if that was the same look she gave Ash when she walked away – but it couldn't have been, because Ash said she was the happiest girl he had ever met.

Maybe an anemone, a purple color the shade of her eyes? Anemones could mean anticipation of something good to come, but they were more widely known for representing fading hope and a feeling of having been forsaken or forgotten or left behind. But how could she be left behind, if she had chosen to come to Bluebell?

* * *

"Did you meet her yet? Lillian, I mean."

"Yeah."

"What did you think of her?"

"She was…interesting."

Ash frowned, rolling his eyes. "What is that supposed to mean? If she heard you say that, she'd probably take it as an insult, you know. You're probably hurting her feelings."

"Well, I'll be sure not to say it to her face, then."

This made Ash laugh, though it was clearly a reluctant one. "That's harsh, Cam," he replied. "Even for you. What did she do that was so weird? When I talked to her, she seemed perfectly normal. Sweet, funny, and she told a lot of interesting stories about her family back in the city. She seems really grateful to be here."

"I don't know…she was just…off. I felt like the way she was acting around you according to how you described it was…just an act. She seemed sort of down when I talked to her."

Cam was tying together a bouquet of spring flowers for Georgia, who liked to change the flowers in her house out for fresh blooms every three days. He chose a green ribbon, which she had once likened to the color of Ash's eyes. Right now it seemed Ash would probably be stopped in his tracks if Cam asked what color Georgia's eyes were, but would probably be able to easily answer in regards to Lillian's. He picked up a violet ribbon, examining it. _Not right_, he thought. Her eyes were lighter than that. Or maybe they were only lighter because they were still shining with tears when he met her? Whatever it was, he didn't linger on it. The ribbon wasn't right, and he didn't even want to look at it anymore.

Ash was sitting on top of the stand, crushing the stem of a pink rose. He didn't seem to notice, and Cam didn't particularly mind, so he went right on destroying the fragile bloom. His eyes were doubtful, but because he was Cam's best friend he was obligated to listen to every single one of his complaints to carefully calculate the proper response. Of course that would be much easier if Cam was a man of many words, but Ash took what he had and used it to the best of his ability.

"Maybe you just caught her at an off moment," he suggested. "She moved far away from home. She's probably just a little homesick, right? Just get to know her more and you'll see. She's a lot of fun to be around."

"Have you talked to Georgia today?" Cam asked.

Ash's face lit up with frustration. "Yes, I did. I stopped and helped her with mucking out the stables on my way here. Why?"

"Did you wash your hands afterwards?"

"Can you just get to your point?"

"Isn't she a little upset lately?"

Ash looked away from his friend, staring off in the distance. Maybe he was looking at Georgia's stables and imagining Georgia inside, leaning against the wall unaware of Ash's new affections and thinking about how sweet he was in stopping to help her. Or maybe he was looking farther out, towards Lillian's farm, where she might be crying about her home or maybe laughing at a letter from her friend or maybe just sitting there, watching television and wondering where she was going with her new Bluebell life.

"I know, alright? It's not like I want to hurt Georgia's feelings. She's my best friend. All I want is for her to be happy. It's not my fault that she…I don't give her a reason to! I don't see why she…"

Ash continued to fumble over his words until Cam was pierced with fresh sympathy for his friend. It was easy to judge a person who inflicted the pain of unrequited love on another, but understanding the burden that they had to carry brought a new kind of judging – he looked at Georgia and wondered why she continued to cling to feelings that hurt her and Ash, and why didn't she realize that his heart had never stood with hers? Ash wiped a hand over his face – Cam hoped he really had washed them – and then sighed.

"I don't know what more I can do. I've tried to let her down, I've asked Laney to talk to her for me, I drop hints that I don't have feelings for her and I try to be the best friend I can be. But it's not what she wants. I feel bad, Cam. I do. I don't want to see her hurting. I don't want to be the one hurting her. I want her to be in a great relationship with a guy who loves her. But it's not that easy. I can't make myself love her, and she can't make herself not like me at the snap of a finger. It's just going to take more time."

"I understand," Cam replied, his voice solemn and remorseful. "I shouldn't have brought it up."

"Forget it. Water under the bridge."

They were silent for a moment afterwards, and Lillian's strange behavior was momentarily forgotten. For the moment Cam was just a boy who still couldn't use his words the way he wanted to, and had accidentally insulted his best friend in an attempt to get the heat from him.

* * *

"Hey Lillian."

"Hey! What's up?"

"I just wanted to ask you something, and since you're walking by…but are you on your way somewhere?"

"No, no, I was just going to check the requests board. It can wait. What's up?"

Ash took a deep breath, already feeling like the question he was about to ask was stupid. He found the suggestion that Lillian had been putting on an act around his disconcerting, and he wanted to do whatever it took to prove Cam wrong. He didn't want his feelings to end up wasted and useless like Georgia's. If Cam had caught a glimpse of the real her, and Ash had only seen a façade…

"Cam said you were acting a little different when he met you. He mentioned that you seemed a little sad. We agreed you were probably just homesick, so…I wanted to make sure everything was going okay."

It was too soon. Of course Lillian wouldn't give him a proper answer – they had barely met, what was she going to go? Was she going to bare her soul to him, I'm so glad you noticed, let me tell you about my hard knock life?

Lillian smiled at him. "Oh, I see. I thought Cam might think I was depressed because of how I was when he saw me. I was exhausted – I had a really tough start of farming, and so I was relaxing by the water. I probably looked a little weird, and definitely out of it. It's nothing to worry about. I'm not depressed or anything like that, Ash. Thanks for asking, though."

Her voice was teasing towards the end, but genuine and sweet. Ash smiled back at her and nodded, satisfied with that answer. Of course she was tired. That made perfect sense. After all, she had only begun her job as a farmer! It was a lot of work for someone, especially for a girl who had moved from the city to a tiny rural village where she was expected to take on the role of a serious farmer. She wasn't putting on an act. Cam was just seeing her at a weakened state. This was the real Lillian.

* * *

"I found out what was up with Lillian when you saw her the other day," Ash announced. "She said that she was worried you would think something was off, because she was completely exhausted when you saw her. So no worries, she's not depressed or anything."

Cam stared at his friend for several moments, and Ash stared back at him as though he was daring him to say that he was wrong. Tired. That made sense. It would make sense if Lillian hadn't been barefoot in the river staring at a fish and crying. Cam wasn't sure what the city habits were, but when _he _was tired he went to sleep or rested on the couch. He didn't creep down to the river and sob.

"Oh, okay. That's good."

"Well, I'll see you later then. I'm going to go help Georgia out a bit more. She said that the stalls still need some more mucking. I just wanted to let you know."

"Thanks for telling me."

"No problem. Later!"

Cam watched him leave and then brushed his fingertips against the drawer where the violet ribbon, a little off, was waiting. What was Lillian, a little off, doing at the moment? His poor anemone. But no, that wasn't right. He needed a better flower.

So he needed to get to know her better. That could be done. If Ash could do it, so could he.


	2. Chrysanthemum

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own Harvest Moon or anything associated with it._

_**Author's Note**__: Alright, I want to start this off with a very grateful thank you to everyone who checked this story out and especially to those who left kind reviews or sent me messages relating to this story. I'm glad to see so many long-term fans of my story checking this one out, it's incredibly sweet. (: Secondly, someone noted that my style this time around is slightly different, and I did want to address that, because I forgot to mention it the first time around! Since I work on this solely at college or between studying sessions, I consider it a bit of a project – a project in which I try to incorporate techniques I'm learning in my fiction writing class. I figured it would be good practice so I didn't feel like I was wasting away my time. :P Thirdly, I want to say that there is a ridiculous amount of conflicting information about daffodils. -_- So if you read something and go hey excuse me I heard otherwise, please let it slide hahaha. I will choose the details that best reflect my story as a whole and the purpose of using daffodils, so if it's not perfectly accurate, I'm terribly sorry. I will attempt to cross reference all of my information, but people have a lot of conflicting ideas about these flowers. The same goes for ever other flower I use in my chapters. Thank you all for your understanding, sorry for this crazy long author's note, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story!_

* * *

_There are many reasons why a daffodil might not bloom – including stress from transplanting, particular varieties possibly not growing well in particular regions, and inhospitable growing conditions from the previous spring. In this case you must continue to treat your daffodils properly, with plenty of water and attention, in hopes that they are merely late bloomers._

* * *

When Lillian was lost deep in the webs of thought in her mind, distant from the villagers who she could not realize were waiting upon her every move, she fingered the second button of her yellow vest. What could it mean? Did it mean that she was someone who was easily distracted and drawn into the caverns of her own mind? Did it mean that she was not interested in the fascinated villagers around her? Did it mean that she preferred her own company over everyone else's?

It meant that sometimes she unbuttoned and rebuttoned the second button of her vest and didn't even realize it. Cam sighed, tossing a wilted carnation that had snuck into his harvest over his shoulder and into the woods beyond. It meant nothing. It meant she would still rather stand in front of the requests board, dazed, then attempt to start up another conversation with him. His eyes followed her from the request board to the Inn, gone for a moment and then reappearance, hello Eileen how's your day going? Mine was fine, thank you for asking.

_What does everyone else see_? Perhaps that would be more indicative of who Lillian was. After all, Cam strongly believed that the Lillian who was speaking to Eileen, the Lillian who Howard mentioned to Cam while elbowing him and winking, the Lillian who had convinced Ash she was merely a little tired after a hard day's work, was the Lillian she wanted people to see. This was a carefully constructed Lillian, crafted together in the same deliberate and precise manner Cam used when choosing which blooms would become part of his latest bouquet. The Lillian he saw was an utter mystery that left him perplexed and frustrated – the first time he had cut himself on a rose's thorn in years was when he was enveloped in thoughts of her and how's she doing? Is she crying now? Why was she crying then? Was it a fleeting moment, does she feel better now, what can I do to let her know I care, do I care? She had somehow seized his mind and wrung it around her like a jacket, a well-worn reliable jacket that one gave up trying to take care of because they needed a new one anyway, so why not wear out this one while they still had the opportunity?

That was a cruel thought. Cam wrenched his thoughts away from his conspiracy theories. Lillian was a girl who had accidentally revealed her weaker side to him. She did not want to dwell upon that – she wanted him to forget and she likely wanted to forget herself. She had completely sidestepped the fact that he had caught her crying and carried on a perfectly normal conversation with him, which she extricated herself from before he got the chance to further question her. Her continued avoidance of him and denial towards Ash made it clear – she wanted this incident to pass from their lives. But Cam could not do that quite so easily. He was already captivated.

She was walking towards the Bluebell monument, unbuttoning and rebuttoning the second button of her vest. Cam leaned across his stand and called out, "Lillian!" He had to do it twice, because either she didn't realize he had called her the first time or she had ignored him.

It was completely uncharacteristic of Cam, to raise his voice in public – let alone at all – and call after someone. He hadn't done such a thing since his childhood, in which he had been forced to call out his friend's names during random games. Lillian spun around, unaware of how much he was pushing himself for her sake, and offered up a clearly reluctant smile. Her steps towards him were painstakingly slow, allowing ample time for regret to spread through Cam until any words he had planned to say to her were gone, drifting somewhere between stupidity and humiliation.

"Hello, Cam."

"Hi."

"How is your day going?"

"Fine."

"That's great."

"Yeah."

"Was there something you needed, Cam?"

Lillian's eyes were not unkind, but they betrayed an ounce of frustration Cam was sure people such as Ash and Eileen and Rose and Rutger hadn't received. Then again, they probably didn't lure her over with the suggestion that they had something of worth to say and then stare blankly at her, answering her questions as curtly as possible and ignoring her discomfort.

"Not particularly."

"I see."

Cam glanced down at the flowers, where her eyes had fallen. She was closely examining a pink rose – the one he had pricked his finger with – that was already beginning to wilt. He picked it up and held it out to her, snapping the thorn off with a swift jab from his thumb. "You can have it."

"Well, thanks." Her smile became genuinely sweet as she accepted the gift, holding it gently between two fingers as though afraid thorns would sprout from its thin stem and stab her. "How long have you run this flower stand?"

He was surprised by the question, but quickly realized he shouldn't have been. She had to ask something – it was too soon to remove herself from the conversation and too late to pretend she had been on her way to finish some errand. It was speak or deal with Cam's stunted comments and silence.

"Since I turned seventeen. So…two years."

"Do you like it?"

"Yeah. I like flowers."

Cam was sure he had never said anything so utterly stupid in his entire life. Of course he liked flowers! He was the town _florist_ after all. He considered excusing himself so that he could run into the woods and disappear, never to be seen again.

"So do I."

"Do you want to help me with the stand?"

Lillian was stuck then, and Cam was half-aware of it and a quarter proud of it. There was no possible way Lillian could turn down the invitation without coming across as cruel, and it would give him a chance to see the shift in her personality – to watch her go from wary, cautious and uncomfortable around Cam to outgoing, cheerful and kind to every other villager. She smiled at him and answered, "What do you want me to do?"

He gestured for her to stand behind the stand with him, making room for her. She set the rose carefully behind her, on the stand he used to hold flowers that were still blooming or that people might possibly request if nothing he suggested stood out to them. Then she placed her hands gently on the table and said, "Do you make a lot of money doing this?"

"Not particularly."

"Do you ever wonder why?"

"Not particularly."

She laughed at this, and for that he was grateful. "I bet I can pull in more money today than you usually do."

"Be my guest," he replied, a smile pulling at the corners of his lips. She cupped her hands over her mouth, her eyes fixed on Ash's form in the distance as he neared, and shouted, "Ash! Would you like to buy a flower?"

The moment in which he was walking over was rife with discomfort for both boys, who regarded each other with different questions stuck in their heads. Ash was likely wondering why Cam, who had not had any particularly kind words for Lillian recently, was suddenly spending time with her. Cam was merely wondering how Lillian would act around him, what would Ash think of him, would his friend be angry at him for being with her? When Ash reached the stand he said, "What's up with you two?"

"I'm proving a point to Cam here," Lillian began, wearing a jovial grin and a considerably happier expression than the one she offered to Cam. "I told him that I bet I could bring in more money today than he usually does."

"Why?" Ash asked, laughing with her.

"Because I like to tease him," Lillian replied, shooting Cam a coy smile. He returned it hesitantly and thought for a moment that he understood Ash's reluctance to consider that Lillian was not the peppy girl she appeared to be. Cam quite liked the feel of that smile she gave him, and wanted to hold it in his hands, to keep it for as long as possible. After all, the moment Ash left it would return to being the suspicious, forced grimace that she had been giving him for the past five minutes. "So will you buy a flower from me?" she asked, clapping her hands together and then gesturing out to the array.

"Do you know enough about flowers to tell me about each of these?" Ash asked, raising an eyebrow as though to dare her, still wearing a wide grin.

Lillian accepted the challenge, pointing from bloom to bloom and rattling off the names as she went. "This is a pink rose, clearly, and it's at the peak of its bloom and they've been dethorned, courtesy of Cam. These here are carnations, here's some casablancas – little known fact, they're actually called Casablanca lilies – and these are a collection of wildflowers, including the blue magic flower."

Cam's eyebrows lifted, clearly impressed, and he and Ash exchanged a brief, meaningful look in which Cam felt he had said _I think I like her _and Ash had replied_ No you don't, stop it_.

"I'll buy a Casablanca lily then," he decided, holding out 600 G.

"It's 650 G today."

He laughed and scrounged in his pocket for one last coin, pressing it into her open palm. "You drive a hard bargain, Lillian."

"That's how you make a profit!"

They shared a brief laugh, and Cam frowned. He had been right to believe Lillian was two different people – here she was, coming off as open and approachable and fun and easy-going. A moment ago she was closed off and could you stop talking to me now, I really have nothing to say to you.

"So, you two are getting along well," Ash declared when the moment had passed, his eyes flitting between them – suspicious when he beheld Cam, tender and sweet when he turned to Lillian. Cam rolled his eyes when neither of them were looking.

"No, I really don't like him at all, actually," Lillian shrugged, turning her shoulder towards him. She allowed several seconds to pass by before she looked up at Cam and winked, brushing her shoulder against his now. "Just kidding. Cam is easy to get along with."

Now _that _was certainly a lie, and this time even Ash knew it. He smiled at her and then said, "Cam, could you lend me your…shirt?"

"Uh…"

"The one _in your room_."

"Right. The one in my room…of course. Be right back."

Lillian smiled and nodded, waving them both off. Cam was sure that she realized there was something going on between the two of them that they had purposefully decided to leave her out of, but she handled it well. He was sure he'd act much more blindsided, if he were to switch and see things from her point of view. His mind read through several different possibilities of why Ash would decide to leave the girl he was falling harder and harder for each day. Was he going to accuse Cam of attempting to flirt with her, or something of the short? Just the thought made Cam blush. It wasn't like he was attempting to monopolize Lillian's time, or trying to convince her to turn her affections towards him. He was trying to prove a point, just like she was – though her point was a little hard to grasp.

"Give me a shirt."

"You actually wanted one?"

"Yes. It has been my lifelong dream to con you out of one of your t shirts."

"Here you go."

Ash accepted the white crew cut shirt and rolled his eyes. "I couldn't think of anything better to ask for, alright? Your room is completely bare, all you have in here are clothes. Of course she doesn't know that, but I'm not a good on my feet thinker. Now I need to actually borrow this so she doesn't think I was making it up."

"What reason could you possibly give her for wanting one of my shirts?"

"Hmm…well, Cheryl has wanted to do arts and crafts lately but doesn't have any rags to do them in."

Cam snatched the shirt from his friend's hands and pulled a worn black tee from the depths of his closet instead. Ash took it with a teasing grin, but Cam didn't accept it fully. Something about Ash was off and troubled and angry and vindictive, and that shirt was one of his favorites. Sure it had been torn at the right shoulder from a rose gone astray, but it had come as a gift from his estranged parents a year before and he was disinclined to dispose of it no matter how embarrassed he'd be to have Lillian – or someone like her, it didn't have to specifically be _her_, of course – see him in it.

"What are you trying to pull, Cam?" Ash was sitting backwards on his desk chair, completely at ease in his friend's room but not completely at ease with him at the moment. "A few days ago you were completely disinterested in this girl. Every time I mentioned her you didn't care. Then you meet her and you still don't seem to care much about her. Now you are suddenly selling flowers with her even though when Laney asked if she could help you one day you begged me to convince her to help out Georgia and I instead."

"Laney is too nitpicky about little things. She'd make me rearrange everything so it was neater."

"Focus, Cam."

"I am focusing. I suggested helping with the stand because she likes flowers, that's all. I'm just trying to get to know more about her."

Ash held up a hand, silencing any further comments Cam would have had. "Take a step back and tell me why I would be suspicious about that."

"…Because I never want to get to know more about anyone. I let them tell me about themselves when they feel like it, and if they never feel like it, then I just never find out."

The two boys stared at each other for a moment until Ash balled up the t shirt, flinging it at Cam's face. Cam countered with an impressively quick release once he had gotten a hold of it, tossing it right back into Ash's face. Ash looked like he would like to throw much more than a shirt – like the chair or the desk for instance, or whatever it took to drive some sense into Cam. "Think about this for a second," he snapped, sounding uncharacteristically annoyed. "You know I like her, and despite this and despite your previous weird feelings regarding her, you're suddenly spending some time with her one on one?"

"It's not how you think it is," Cam protested, sitting on the edge of his bed, feet planted firmly in the shaggy violet carpet Laney had given him as a birthday present several years ago. Most of his room was adorned with failed shots his friends had taken in an attempt to buy him something he would actually like. Nobody wanted to rely on flowers, refusing to state that all there was to Cam was his florist roots, but they struggled every birthday and gift-giving holiday with the issue of what actually was a good reflection of Cam's personality, what he would genuinely appreciate, and what wouldn't end up being some out of place decoration in his already mediocre life. "She doesn't treat me the same way she treats you. She's a lot colder towards me. I'm just trying to figure out why."

"Have you tried asking?"

"…I can't do that."

Ash smiled. That answer wasn't a surprise, at least. Cam, who was unable to even ask Lillian why she was crying when both he and her were fully aware that was what had happened, definitely could not go about asking her why she switched her personality on and off or left and right or here and there for different people. He was stuck pretending to be some sort of detective, sleuthing about for the answers he coveted.

"I get that you want to find that out. But…keep in mind that I have a thing for her, would you?"

"I'm not going to flirt with her, I know you like her. I'm pretty sure everyone in town knows. Except…"

"Yeah," Ash murmured, knocking the chair aside as he rose to his feet and turned to gaze out of the freshly washed window – a sign that Laney had been around. There was a picture tacked just above it of Cam standing between Ash, who had his arm slung around his shoulder, and Georgia, who was holding onto his wrist with both hands and wearing a wicked grin. Cam looked like an older brother to two slightly immature siblings. That had been three years ago. Georgia's feet were pointed towards Ash. "It smells like lavender in here."

"Laney."

"Ah."

"I'd better head back out there and make sure she doesn't attempt to raise the prices for every customer who comes by."

"Good point."

"Don't forget your shirt."

"Just shut up."

* * *

Four hours later Lillian ducked to the other side of the floral stand, gesturing proudly to the absence of several blooms she had sold. Cam had a feeling they sold more due to the fact that people felt obligated to purchase from her than her superb selling techniques. Nobody wants to hurt the new girl's feelings by turning down her power struggle sells. For a moment she met Cam's eyes with the same smile she would have shown to Ash, but it changed hurriedly into a more somber expression when she caught the serious glint in his eyes.

"How many flowers do you usually sell?" she asked, unbuttoning and rebuttoning the yellow button on her shirt.

"Uh, like, one. Or two. Sometimes three, if Georgia is paying."

Lillian laughed, and he was surprised by how genuine it was. Their conversation had come in like tides throughout the past four hours – swept in and easy to do at some points, awkward and withdrawn at others. He didn't feel like he had grown closer to her when he stared at her and saw nothing new about the pretty appearance she put on for the town's benefit, but when he dwelled upon their conversation and that initial smile he thought that perhaps he was a little closer to her. At the very least, he felt a little more comfortable while speaking to her. "I have a vase in my house for flowers," she told him. "How about I come and buy a bouquet from you every few days for that?"

"If you want to."

"Can you put one together right now?"

Cam certainly did not want to hand her a plain bouquet of the casablanacas, carnations and pink roses she had been fumbling with. He turned his back to her and gazed upon the flowers he set aside for more particular occasions. There were the flowers for celebrations, for birthdays, for I love yous and feel betters and do your bests. He had a good deal of chrysanthemums arrayed throughout the horde of blooms. Yellow, the color of her vest today. He would put together a yellow bouquet, with a couple white roses. White roses because they were there and because they could be included. Yellow chrysanthemums because, to the rest of the world, she _was _a chrysanthemum – optimistic, joyful, possessing an intense zeal for the life stretched miles ahead of her. Yellow in particular not only for her outfit, but for its deeper meaning – a slighted love, kindly declining a romantic advance. It was partly instinct and partly frustration and partly thoughts of the townspeople around him that propelled him to grab those blooms from his vast choices. Slighted love, like Ash towards Georgia and perhaps – and hopefully – Lillian towards Ash and possibly even – and hopefully not – Lillian towards him. But no, he didn't want to covet the girl his best friend was attracted to. But what if he did? Ash already had a girl who loved him dearly, why couldn't he just love her back? Why did he have to set his sights on Lillian, on Lillian who he didn't even know but thought he did?

Cam tied them together with a modest white ribbon and snatched her pink rose from its waiting place as well, holding each set out to her with separate hands. She took the bouquet and admired it for a moment before tucking the pink rose securely into her pocket. It clashed with the yellow. She looked as beautiful as ever.

"This is nice," she told him. "Why did you choose these flowers?"

"Because you're wearing yellow."

Lillian looked up and met his eyes and forced him to keep eye contact with her – the gleam in her violet orbs demanded attention. Was this another facet of Lillian's personality? Intimidating, dominant, powerful. She did seem to be more independent than he had given her credit for initially. "I always feel like you have ulterior motives for everything you say and do," she admitted, her voice low and doubtful, lacking any hint of teasing that could have more easily transported that sentence. She finished with a smile, however, and a higher voice when she cooed, "But I'm probably just being paranoid. This is gorgeous. How much do I need to pay you for it? And don't go off trying to give it to me for free like with the rose."

She had caught him on both accounts. He did have ulterior motives for everything he did, and he did want to give her the bouquet for free. Wasn't she supposed to horde money as dearly as possible to ensure she could put all of her profit towards the farm? Well, if she insisted that she had enough money to pay for the bouquet. He would at least give her a discount. He requested 200 G and pretended he hadn't heard the previous statement. To acknowledge her doubts would be to confirm them, but so would ignoring them. Perhaps if he were more like Ash he could have replied coquettishly and knocked the suspicion from his shoulders. But he was nothing like Ash, and so he accepted the money with a gracious grimace and thanked her for her purchase.

"Thanks for helping out, too. You made a big difference."

"I'm glad to hear you say that," she responded. Cam thought that saying something like 'you're welcome' would have fit the situation much more appropriately. To be honest, he suspected that she also had ulterior motives for everything she said and did. If so, what was her ulterior motive for this? Cam felt the chill wind that came with night and a spur of motivation. Now would be a good time to ask. Now would also be a good time to be quiet. Ulterior motives – something more to add to the list of things he so desperately yearned to find out about her. "I had a good time helping out too. More than I thought I would, actually. I'd like to help you out again sometime."

Any intelligent words Cam could have replied with caught in his throat. "Sure," he told her, which was a meager answer. Sure betrayed the implications he had been attempting to convey – that he would love to be helped by her, that he would love to spend time with her, that he would love it if Ash would just set his sights on another girl.

"Good night, Cam."

"Night."

She walked towards her farm without another word or even another look in his direction. She was limping slightly, and he noticed that she tread softly along the path despite it being comprised of fairly loose dirt. _Her boots_, he thought. She was barefoot when he saw her at the river. She probably wasn't used to wearing them day in and day out. And he had forced her to stand all day. That must have been uncomfortable. She hadn't excused herself until closing time anyways. Did that mean that she wanted to spend more time with him? Cam absentmindedly spun a slip of white ribbon he had wasted in having cut an incorrect length for her bouquet. He had been able to solve one minor mystery about her just now, and had realized that she was not used to the boots that hurt her feet. Why couldn't he solve the others? _More time_. If he had been able to find out one thing about her, who was to say he couldn't learn more? He most definitely could. Maybe tomorrow, or maybe the day after. He had plenty of time. He looked out towards Ash's farm. Maybe not so much time.

But he could do it. He had to do it. He wanted to do it. He dropped the ribbon on his shoe and never noticed, instead continuing to twirl his fingers around as though still threading the ribbon between them. He had no clue whether or not Lillian even liked him as a person, but he wanted to be liked by her. What was the difference between forcing his friendship on her and making a legitimate friend? He couldn't remember how he had gone about making genuine friends of Ash, Laney and Georgia. He looked at his hands and frowned, looking around the stand and surprised to find that the ribbon was nowhere to be seen. He shrugged and retreated towards his home, not noticing the ribbon slipping onto the floor and catching in the wind. Spring couldn't end sooner, he thought to himself as he rolled the sleeves of his shirt down before slipping inside. It was much too cold and windy out.

* * *

Lillian picked up the slip of ribbon that landed on the edge of her pasture's fence, frowning. She too was positioned on the fence's top, watching her cows get another few moments of frolicking time out of their system. Her youngest calf sniffed curiously at the boots she had discarded at the pasture entrance and then continued on, uninterested. The farmer rolled the ribbon up and tucked it into the pocket of her vest, buttoning and rebuttoning the second button as she thought of where that ribbon had come from and the boy who had touched it only moments ago.


	3. Amaryllis

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own Harvest Moon or anything associated with it._

_**Author's Note**__: Hey everyone, thank you for the understanding with the pretty slow updates and for the reviews. I do want to stress one thing before I continue writing: this is not a love triangle story, haha. Ash's feelings are a catalyst, if you will. So if you are here to see something with Ash and Lillian, I'd recommend you look at my other stories instead. :P I just wanted to make that clear so people who have been clamoring for Cam/Lillian forever aren't like WHAT IS GOING ON haha. Also, I have to apologize again for the updates. I can't promise they will get better in the future, but I can say I feel terrible when these updates are late hahaha, so I will do my best. With that said, I hope you all enjoy this story and this chapter!_

* * *

_Daffodils are meant to bring happiness, but a single daffodil can foretell misfortune._

* * *

Lillian's laugh was loud and unbridled – it stretched all the way to Cam's flower stand from her position in front of Ash's house. Cam couldn't help but roll his eyes, though he knew it was cruel. What did Ash even know about her? Then again, what did _he _even know about her? He hadn't been given the stories Ash was graced with, but at least he knew better than to assume the face Lillian displayed to the rest of the town wasn't necessarily the face she wore when she was home alone.

He would have gone on ignoring them to the best of his ability had he not managed to catch her pointing in his direction. He looked up and caught Ash's eye – the boy waved, shouting out, "Why don't you take the day off?"

"Why?" Cam did not shout, but merely spoke in his normal tone as though Ash was right beside him. He knew they were good enough friends for Ash to be able to read his lips and grasp his replies.

Ash answered, "Do you need a reason to hang out with your best friend?"

"Yes."

"We're going to hike over to Konohana so I can show Lillian around a bit more! Nobody is going to buy a flower from you. Just say yes and come with us."  
Cam made a face. It was one thing for _him_ to acknowledge that his flowers weren't big sellers, but for Ash to say it…then again, he knew his biggest pulls were solely on rainy days, when everyone who had procrastinated buying a present for the birthdays of Bluebell's many residents rushed out to the only shop still open. He considered making up some sort of excuse to free himself from the weight of Ash's expectations, but nothing came to mind. There was nothing important he could blame his job on, there was honestly no reason to keep the stand open any longer (Georgia had already bought her bouquet), and he _wanted _to go. He turned the folded paper on his stand that read _open_ over. _Closed_.

"Hello, Cam," Lillian told him, her smile bright and lively. Only the annoyed twinge in her eyes suggested that he was an unwelcome guest. For some reason he took pleasure in knowing she hadn't wanted him there. It meant he had caught her off guard – it meant that he was getting closer to knowing the truth.

"Hey."

"How's your day been so far?"

"Fine."

"Ignore him," Ash told her, patting Cam's shoulder in a bemused manner. "He doesn't talk much unless he's known someone for a long time. It's pretty futile trying to get him to say more than a word at a time."

"I hate you."

"I'm just lucky!"

Lillian giggled, which was a sound alien to the Lillian Cam believed her to be. He frowned at the noise, but realized it was fairly genuine – it showed in her eyes, which glistened with amusement. So she was capable of being happy. He was too, it was no big deal. It just so happened that she was happy even less than him. Her laughter was infectious in the worst way, however; it dulled his ability to decipher when she was being real and when she was putting on an act, and he found himself ingrained with the same amount of cheer. "It must be nice," she told him, "to have such a good friend."  
Even Ash seemed to catch the wistfulness in those words. "You're our friend too," he told her.

Lillian turned pointedly to Cam.

"…Yeah."

"Like I said, please ignore him." This time Ash's words came through gritted teeth, as though he was resisting the urge to slap Cam and say what are you thinking? Just tell her what she wants to hear, it's not hard to make a friend, is it? Even for you?

"Yeah, you're our friend," Cam reiterated.

The smile that came onto her cheeks was a somber, tender one that Cam felt he was blessed with. She looked at him for a moment longer before she turned, facing the mountain path. "That's sweet of you two. We'd better get moving, then. Maybe if we hurry Cam can get back to his shop before it closes."

Ash caught Cam and held him back when Lillian started for Konohana. "Be a little nicer to her," he mumbled. "She moved far away from her family to live here all by herself. I don't know why yet, but it's hard for her. She just wants to know that she has some friends. So put aside your weird mind games for the day and just give her some slack, alright? She doesn't want to get to close to you – that's her deal, not yours."

_Doesn't want to get close to you._ Was that it? Was Lillian not just avoiding him and hesitating around him because he had seen her crying – was it because she simply didn't want to be the friend he told her he was? Or were those two things one, and she didn't want to get close to him _because_ he had already seen something she was embarrassed of? Whatever the reason, when he looked at her he saw that she was staring at them with a crestfallen frown, as though she knew they were discussing her, and he decided to do just that – for today, he would forego the subtle interrogation. He wanted to know why she held him at a distance, why she had been crying, why she acted so cheerful around the rest of the townspeople but so cold to him; but today was not a time to ask any of those things. He nodded and Ash released him to surge after the brunette, his fingertips brushing against the small of her back as he ushered her forward. Cam found a rush of annoyance rise in his stomach that made him want to knock Ash to the ground and take Lillian on her tour himself.

Instead he fell into step on the other side of her, glancing silently around at the wildflowers sprouting everywhere while Ash babbled on about some sort of nonsense. He felt her eyes on him several times, but when he turned to prove it true all he received was a slap in the face from her hair as she spun to face Ash again. The only time she did continue looking at him was when she had a question. She was pointing at a flower to the right of his foot and as soon as he looked at her she asked, "What's the name of that flower?"

"It's a toy flower," he replied, pulling it gently from the ground. He was slightly impressed to see it. "They usually don't last this long into spring, honestly."

She took it from his hold without asking, but that only made him grin. At least she had developed a sense of familiarity around him that she felt free to act the same way Ash or Laney or Georgia would. She examined it closely before saying, "I've never seen this kind of flower before. I guess it doesn't grow in the city."  
"Do you know a lot about flowers, Lillian?" Ash asked, offering up a gentle smile. As harsh as Ash could be at times in regards to people's feelings, he was remarkably in tune with them more often than not, and Cam soon realized he was attempting to steer the conversation away from painful memories of her past. Cam had to admit that he was rather impressed with it.

Lillian nodded, pointing out at different herbs and listing the names with ease. She was particularly amused by the chamomile growing in the mountains, pointing out that even in the city it grew in a much greater abundance. "My mom was a florist – like Cam," she told them, her voice full of wistfulness once more. "She also helped grow a lot of herbs for the town. I didn't believe much in their healing abilities, but a lot of people did and bought them from us. So I guess I know a lot about all plants now."

Ash and Cam exchanged a look and Cam smiled. So she liked flowers too. That was why she had asked him about his job as a florist – it only seemed natural to do so. And that was why – though her techniques did little to a town that was surrounded by flowers they could pick at will – her sales methods were rather impressive. "That makes a lot of sense," he murmured, more to himself than to her. Still, she turned to him with surprise.

"Does it?" she asked. "How so?"

"You were good yesterday," he explained hastily, feeling the weight of her suspicion return. What could her interest in plants making sense do that would worry her so? "You knew all the flower names and you were good at selling them, so it just makes sense that you grew up around plants."

She smile and nodded, a sense of relief emanating for her. "I see…thank you, Cam."

"No problem," he replied, exchanging another look with Ash. The boy shrugged, which at least let Cam know that he wasn't the only one who saw something strange in her actions. Sometimes he felt like Lillian's less happy side was a ghost troubling only him – a figment of his imagination, or something of the sort. Ash pointed out a hollowed out tree trunk animals often stored their foraging finds in, suggesting she use it to her benefit. She thanked him and snuck another look at Cam, and this time he looked away.

* * *

"Konohana is beautiful!" Lillian nearly danced around the town as they went, excitedly stopping to examine architecture and other characteristics of the village constantly. Cam followed her with an amused smile, but Ash looked rather fretful.

"Don't get too happy about this place," he told her gently. "Konohana is Bluebell's greatest enemy."

"Rutger mentioned that," she mumbled, frowning as she stopped examining Nori's farm. She met Cam's eyes rather than Ash and asked, "Why?"

Cam was startled to have the question thrown at him. "Er, I don't know, really. Some old feud Rutger's been carrying on that culminated in the tunnel collapsing between the towns and really making them separate. It's pretty pointless, honestly, but everyone takes it really seriously. So…don't question it when we get back in Bluebell. People will get annoyed."

Lillian gazed at him for a moment and then glanced at Ash, who looked highly uncomfortable with the entire discussion. "It's just a part of our town's culture," he tacked on. "Konohana is our rival. That's why we compete against them in the weekly cooking competitions. To Mayor Rutger and a lot of people around town, winning is the most important thing possible. Everyone will be counting on you to participate as well."  
Once again Lillian spoke to Cam instead of Ash. "Do _you_ participate?" she asked.

"Yeah," he muttered, his voice bitter. "I don't have much of a choice. Sometimes Rutger just stops by and ropes me into it. I usually just enter something Laney has prepared, though."

Ash jammed his elbow into his side, catching his ribs. "Don't say stuff like that when we're _in_Konohana," he hissed. "Do you want to be permanently disqualified?"

"Yeah, I do, actually."

Ash glared at his friend, but Lillian burst into laughter. It was not free and wild like it had been when she spoke to Ash earlier, but it was genuine and happy. This was her _true _unbridled laugh. "Cam, you're funniest when you're not trying to be," she told him teasingly. "Let's move along, then. I won't ask anything else about the rivalry."

Cam smiled at her, though the compliment was as vicious as it was sweet, and followed her as she hurried towards Yun's shop. Ash lingered behind them, his eyes narrowed and annoyed. He had never heard Cam say that he was opposed to the entire issue before, but to have him do it _now_, at a time when it would one up him, after all those years of keeping quiet…he fussed with the collar of his shirt to distract himself and expel a little energy as he followed behind them, albeit at a small distance.

* * *

When Lillian had been able to meet all of the residents, try some of the unique treats Yun had to offer, and been granted a ride on Kana's treasured Hayate, Cam and Ash began to lead her back home. And Ash was doing a fantastic job of leading, Cam thought, considering he was a good ten feet ahead of them.

"Is he angry with me for my questions about the Bluebell/Konohana thing?" she asked worriedly. A look of genuine concern and anxiety was etched into the lines that her narrowed brows created. The sky ahead was glorious and bright – they would manage to make it home before nightfall. Ash walked in silence up ahead, hands slung in his pockets and shoulders squared.

"No," Cam answered. "I don't think he's mad at you at all. He's probably upset with me. I'll be right back."

He jogged up ahead to clear the distance between them, leaving Lillian to worry alone, and said, "What are you doing up here?"

Ash shrugged. "I don't want to interrupt anything."

"What are you talking about?" Cam's voice was edged with exasperation. "She doesn't even know what to say to me. We haven't spoken at all this entire time except for her to ask if you were angry with her. I don't know what you're getting at but-"

"You have never disagreed with the way Bluebell and Konohana compete until today," Ash began. "And if you look back at this entire day, could you really say that you didn't have anything to talk to her about? It's your who has flowers in common with her, it's you she split her asazuke salad with, and it's you who sat on the bench beside her while she pointed out the trees that were nearby. Do you know what I did all those times?"

Cam hesitated before asking, "What?"

That clearly was the incorrect answer, but Ash didn't fault him any further for it. "Watched," he snapped. "I tried to intercede at first, but I just gave up. If you have a thing for her, just say so."

"I do not," Cam protested, rolling his eyes. "She asked me to share the salad because she didn't have enough money to buy it alone! I didn't want to turn her down and say no, just starve. And when we sat on the bench together, what was I supposed to do? Ask her to get up and say that I was sitting by myself? You told me to treat her like a friend, and that's what I was doing. So why are you so pissed off at me?"

"Because I wanted you to treat me as a friend too!" Ash's voice was hot and Cam could _feel_ the anger rising from him. "You know I like her! This day was supposed to be a day to help me get closer to her. Anyone else in the world could have put that together, but no, you decided to continue carrying out your weird investigation on her and didn't bother to consider my feelings in it. I have always considered you to be the most caring person I know. You _always _knew how me, Georgia and Laney felt. But today, you never thought about my feelings. You only thought about your own. Walk her home yourself, and tell her I had a nice time and I'm not angry with her."

With that Ash stomped off, and Cam stopped, watching him go. He wanted to shout after him that Ash shouldn't have taken his kindness for granted – that expecting it was unfair – but he thought better of it. He expected Ash to consider his feelings as well, didn't he? That wasn't something that was just a personality trait of his, to be "caring." It was what _friends _did. Ash had made it clear that he had feelings for Lillian, but Cam hadn't bothered to acknowledge them fully beyond hoping they went away. He looked over his shoulder at her as she stared miserably in the direction Ash had gone.

"He's mad at me," he told her. "Don't blame yourself. He asked me to tell you that he's not upset with you at all and that he had a great time hanging out with you today."

Lillian swept up a sprig of lavender still barely hanging on from the winter. "I still feel bad," she murmured. "I should have tried to include him more."

"Why didn't you?"

Cam knew the words were wrong after he said them, but she didn't scold him as Ash would. She perched herself on the edge of a fallen tree trunk and sighed. "Because I'm trying to figure something out about you."

"Huh? What would you want to find out about me?" He mimicked her frown and sat beside her, hesitating every moment. He knew she wouldn't, but she _could _just push him right off his seat and leave him humiliated. She could do a lot of things. She could run off and ignore his question and tell everyone that when given the chance to comfort her Cam had turned her confession against her.

She didn't, and he didn't expect her to. He had a feeling that Lillian would never do anything that would cause the townspeople around her to get riled up. She seemed to want to slip under the radar past them for as long as possible. When she was ready to speak she turned towards him, stared at him dead in the eye, and said, "I can't tell which of you is the real one. Everyone says how shy and quiet you are, but you talk freely with Ash, and I don't think it has to do with comfort. I think you simply choose who you want to talk to. Ash says you talk plenty to him, but Laney says it's hard to get a word out of you. You're close with both of them, so…why? Why don't you even ask me about…you know what?"

"It seemed rude?" he provided. "And I'm not the one who comes across as fake."

"Excuse me?" she snapped, her voice definitely _not _as sweet as it was when she spoke to the villagers of her town.

Cam forced himself to stand his ground, though his instincts suggested he bow down before her and beg forgiveness for his transgressions. "Well…you treat me differently than you treat Ash and everyone else in town, and I'm trying to-"

"I treat you differently because _you_treat me differently!"

"But you treated me weird first," Cam argued, his voice low and frustrated. "And then you avoided me, and you never seem to want to talk to me…"

"Because I'm embarrassed!"

The words hung in the air between them, the tumult of her exasperation. She had practically screamed them in his face. He stuttered as he mumbled, "There's no reason to be…"

"That's a lie," she retorted, her voice fierce and biting. "I don't need people to know about the person I was before I came here. This is the person I am here, and this is the person I want to be judged by. I'm embarrassed that you saw me…just forget about it, Cam! I can find my way home by myself."

She turned, tossing her lavender to the ground and stalking off. Cam hesitated, always hesitated, and then surged after her in quite an uncharacteristic manner, catching her wrist. When she spun on him he released her, holding his hands up in defense. She almost laughed at the reaction. "I just want to tell you," he murmured, now speaking gently. "I don't think you need to be embarrassed. I…I just thought that…you were lying to me all along about who you were. I mean, you were…so I thought that this happy face you put on…was a lie. And I thought you were treating me weirdly and it was frustrating because everyone was always talking about you, and…"

"You're talking a lot now," she noted, a reluctant smile winding its way onto her pale lips. Lillian was beautiful the day he met her, the day he worked the flower stand with her, and now – it didn't matter that he could see a scar etched in the corner of her forehead, and it didn't matter that her bangs were sticking up, and it didn't matter that the edges of her right index finger was bloodied from hangnails, and it didn't matter that when she looked at him she didn't exactly want to smile. She was beautiful for everything she was and everything she wasn't and everything she could be. She was beautiful. Beautiful. That was all Cam could think. As he looked at her so instantly move past the issue that had rested between them, he realized that he thought she was not objectively beautiful, but _he _thought she was beautiful. It was his opinion. He was no longer quoting the entire town. He was looking at her and thinking that he wanted to press his lips against the faint white line of her scar and he wanted to wrap a bandage around her finger and he wanted her to smile when she looked at him. No longer did he solely want her to like him as a person. He wanted her to like him as much as Ash wanted her to like him. Perhaps more, he told himself. Maybe more. But to say that was to throw Ash's feelings away again.

"I have more to say today."

"Is that why you don't talk other times?"

"Yeah. I don't have anything to say."

Lillian laughed, but it lacked humor. It was a matter-of-fact statement on the mediocrity of his answer. He had nothing to say, so he didn't say anything. How very like Cam. She gestured towards the town and said, "Let's head back."

"But you…"

"Enough of this detective game you're playing." Her voice was firm, like she was scolding a child. "Stop trying to figure out who the 'real Lillian' is. This is it. Alright?"

He didn't believe anything she was saying, but he smiled and nodded. It appeared that he would have to be cleverer to prevent her from noticing that _he _was noticing everything she did. He wanted to know who she was. Not just to discover how much of her was for her audience and how much was _her_ leaking out. He wanted to know who she was so he could know who it was he liked. Until then, he would stay silent and bide his time. After all, he had nothing to say.

Amaryllis. Splendid beauty, worth beyond beauty. There was more to her than the outward appearance Cam had grown to appreciate. It was the muddled personality buried beneath layer upon layer of caution. Until he had managed to pull each layer away, he would continue to have nothing to say. He had no right to speak to someone he didn't know. He had no right to demand attention from someone. He had no right to her at all.

* * *

Three days passed and Cam hadn't heard a single word from Ash, who moved through town like a phantom image of himself. When Georgia stopped by to purchase a new bouquet, she wore a violet ribbon wound through her hair and an anxious smile. She told him that Ash had recently complimented the ribbon, culminating in her decision to wear it everywhere she went. Cam didn't have the heart or the guts to tell her that he probably only liked the color because it matched Lillian's eyes. She held it up to his vest and said, "Look – almost the same color. Maybe that's why Ash likes it."

"Maybe."

He gave her a colored bouquet - a mix of the popular spring flowers. Anything else required too much thought and concentration, which were not his strong points for the day. She watched as he accidentally triple knotted the ribbon, which left the bow lopsided and stubby. "Are you angry at Ash?" she asked. "I haven't seen you two hanging out much lately."

Georgia and Cam had been friends for many years. He wouldn't consider them as close as he and Ash or he and Laney – in their group of four, they knew each other the least. It wasn't that he disliked Georgia at all, or liked her less than the other two. It was simply that they led entirely different lives. Through his and Ash's differences, Ash's determination to befriend the only other boy in town had allowed them to become close. Laney and Cam shared many interests, and found it easy to bond. Georgia got along easily with Laney, the other girl in town, and with Ash, who also took care of animals like she did. But Georgia and Cam…what they had in common was Ash and Laney. That was it. It was hard to get closer to someone when the only thing tying you together was mutual friends and a long term bond.

So that was why Cam did not confide tp her his troubles – he did not say, no, Ash is the one mad at me, and for a good reason, maybe, or maybe a not so good reason. Do you think it's a good reason? It is normal for friends to get upset about this? I don't know. I don't know much about friends. He said, "No, I'm not mad at him." And then he held out his hand for her money.

"Oh," Georgia said. "Hey…do you think Ash gets annoyed with me?"

Did Ash get annoyed with her obvious and uncomfortable crush on him? Annoyed seemed too strong a word. To be honest, even Cam felt awkward dealing with her clearly unrequited feelings that she felt the need to push constantly. However, he also felt sympathetic towards her, who had a pick of two boys in the town and had been hopelessly in love with Ash since they were children. He felt frustrated at Ash, who straddled the line between being a good friend and leading her on due to his reluctance to make a clear point that he would never be interested in her. Ash made a continual mistake of giving her hope in the middle of his letdowns, which did nothing to dampen her feelings – it convinced her that if they were stronger he would return them.

But was Ash annoyed with this frequent routine? "I don't think he gets annoyed with you," Cam told her. Maybe he felt uncomfortable, maybe he got tired of it sometimes, but more than anything Cam sensed a constant stream of guilt emanating from his friend. Guilt for hurting his best friend, guilt for not loving her, guilt for being too much of a coward to cut the string that held them together. Cam understood it a bit more now. What was Ash doing at that moment? Cam had never considered his feelings. He knew Ash liked Lillian. He knew it. So why did he not feel the slightest bit bothered when she asked him questions rather than Ash? Why did he feel so smug when she asked him to share a salad with her? He was always aware that Ash was being left out. Why did he pretend otherwise?

"Thanks, Cam," Georgia murmured, her expression somber and worried even with his reassurance as she took her bouquet and turned towards home. Cam didn't bother answering her. Amaryllis. Worth beyond beauty. …Worth hurting his best friend? _Maybe_, he answered himself. Maybe she was worth it. That only made him feel worse.


	4. Rose

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own Harvest Moon or anything associated with it._

_**Author's Note**__: This is my longest chapter yet! I want everyone to please keep in mind that I don't appreciate character bashing. Not only has this been a problem with reviews, but it'll probably be a problem after this chapter! Hahaha. Please remember that characters have millions of different motives and reasons for everything and I'll try to get to those all so you're not pissed at any character in particular and have a genuine understanding of them haha. Thank you all for the reviews though, they've been lovely and sweet and I appreciate the continual patience with this story. I hope you like this chapter!_

* * *

_In the Victorian days, daffodils represented chivalry._

* * *

"You seem glum."

"Glum."

"Glum! It means sad."

"Glum," said Cam. "It means sad."

"Are you mimicking me?" Laney asked. Her faded pink apron was splattered with the milkshake Cam had attempted to make the day before. He had been spending a lot of his free time with Laney, who did her best to give him tasks to keep him entertained – such as making milkshakes and assuming he was clever enough to attach the lid to the blender. She was not courageous enough to speak up about the obvious issue between he and Ash, so she did her best to distract him instead. She did the same with Ash – that morning she had dropped off cookies at his house. But now Ash's time was over and it was Cam's turn to be comforted.

"No," he told her. "I'm just saying it."

Laney's hands were on her hips, her fingernails coated in pastel pink. The same color Georgia's nails always were. Cam thought of Lillian's stubby nails, edged with blood and hangnails and overall lacking in neatness. He remembered that she had painted her toe nails. He remembered that she had been limping in her boots. Were they still troubling her? He remembered a lot of things about her all the time. Remembering didn't mean anything. It was Ash's side she had been at the past few days, anyways.

Was it naïve of him to think that her parting words had given edge to a new friendship? He had done his best to make her believe he would take her words as law and begin to judge her as the person she was now and not the person she was in the past. Of course he hadn't really meant it – he was still intensely curious about what she was hiding – but he did his best to pretend otherwise. She had no way of knowing what he was thinking. Why was it Ash she spent her time with? If she and Ash were hanging out, why hadn't Ash tried to make up with him yet? Were they some sort of item? No, if they were Georgia wouldn't be so damned happy all the time.

"Stop looking so glum. Do you want to talk about anything?" Laney asked. Her voice was dripping with hopefulness – hope that he would lean across the table towards her and confess everything that was going on between him and Ash and he's just so mean I don't understand, why isn't he talking to me? Cam blinked and shook his head. He didn't want to talk about anything. He didn't want to talk at all.

Laney smiled at him and didn't act the slightest bit miffed. He was very appreciative of that. His favorite thing about Laney was her dependableness – which was a better way of putting her consistency, her tendency to get boring, her constant repeating of the same thing over and over again. He liked Lillian and he liked never knowing what she was doing. He couldn't help but be troubled by Laney's constancy when he thought of Lillian. To be honest, calling the time he spent with Laney such was a bit of a lie – it was really her forcing herself on him every time she caught him alone. Now that his work had ended and he was back inside Howard's, she was forcing him to bond with her. He didn't have the heart to tell her to leave him alone, so he let her talk about how glum he was and how are you feeling, is there anything you want to talk about? He looked out the window and sighed. It wasn't yet cool enough for his breath to _really _fog up the glass, and he hated that. He wished it was winter.

"Look!" Laney pointed eagerly out the window towards Georgia and Ash, who were standing together in front of the pointless Bluebell monument Rutger had erected many years ago. Cam didn't understand what she was trying to point out to him initially, and found himself recalling all the times Ash had climbed to the top of the monument, perched on top of the chicken, while Cam stood at the cow's level and urged him to climb back down. When Laney jabbed her finger against the glass to attract his attention, he finally saw what she saw – Georgia standing very close to Ash with her face turned up to him, and Ash looking back very kindly.

_Huh_, he wondered. And that was it. Cam knew there was nothing between them. There was going to be some story about why they were there and what they were doing. Ash would explain it to him when they began talking again and he would be able to pride himself on being above Laney's intense interest in the affairs of others.

And then Georgia kissed Ash.

Even Cam could not hide his surprise. Laney squealed in shock, both hands pressed up against the glass and her nose scrunched against it too. She was so close he _could _see her breath on the glass. He leaned closer to the window as well, surprisingly eager to see how Ash would react. Much to his surprise, Ash did not push her away or pull back or anything of the sort. It was hard to tell if he was returning the enthusiasm with which she was kissing him, but he certainly wasn't denying it. Cam pulled away, reluctant to spy on them, and then leaned forward again. He couldn't help but be curious. Laney jammed him in the shoulder with her elbow in some sort of motion that was supposed to convey her excitement, but only stung. He scowled at her and watched as Georgia finally pulled away.

They were so caught up that they did not notice the figure behind them. It was only when she said, "Wow Cam, I didn't peg you as a busybody," that he realized Lillian was there.

Laney spun around with her fingertips already reaching for the strings of her apron, which was a nervous habit of hers. Cam tore himself away from the strange sight he had witnessed and focused on the farmer behind him. Today she wore a new outfit much more suited to work, with her own tiny yellow apron. She was untying it as he deliberated on which words to use next. She had switched out her yellow bandana for a blue one, and Cam found himself wishing she'd wear a dress and vest again, for this outfit hardly did her justice. She was wearing new boots, however, and they looked more comfortable, so a piece of him swelled with happiness for her that he had never expected could come from him.

Perhaps he would have sat there running through her outfit in his mind with potential replies drifting somewhere in there as well had Laney not said, "Sorry about that, Lillian. We were caught up with something we, er, thought we'd never see."

"Have they been interested in each other very long?" Lillian asked, sliding into the seat beside Cam. He shifted in his chair to face her and caught the scent of dirt and flowers, too intermingled to pick out one particular bloom. Judging from the way her pants were wrinkled as though they had been rolled up before, and the faint line of water in such a strange place on her jeans, he figured she had once again been by the river in the mountains. He hoped she wasn't crying this time.

"Well…not really," Laney answered. She hesitated and looked out the window, and Cam followed her gaze. Ash and Georgia were nowhere to be seen, however. The moment had been lost. Laney probably felt an ounce of resentment towards Lillian for ruining her spectating, but Cam found only shame in being caught immersing himself in such a pathetic hobby.

Lillian turned to look at Cam, who shrugged. "Uh, they've never been…I mean…we always knew…ah…how do I put this…"

She laughed, and he gave up. Wording his friend's continuous rejection of Georgia was impossible to do without revealing Georgia's long term affection for Ash, which Cam wasn't sure she'd want revealed. Then again, if she was open to kissing him in public, who knew what she was thinking? Laney rescued him by replying, "We were just surprised by Ash's reaction."

"…I see," Lillian nodded, sensing the hesitation in both. At least Laney's comment gave her something to go off of. Cam hoped she was clever enough to piece the information together to form the same understanding he and Laney had come to. She looked out the window with them and said, "I'm sorry for ruining the moment there, then."

"No, it's fine," Laney told her instantly, hurriedly shaking her head. "Don't worry about it!"

Cam looked at Lillian for a moment and then muttered, "It's better that you do. It's their business, not ours."

Lillian smiled at him, and Laney's cheeks reddened. "You're right," the blonde mumbled. "Georgia will tell me about it later…I'm sure. Anyways, what did you stop by for, Lillian?"

The two girls seemed at odds with the other, and it made Cam feel uncomfortable as well. It seemed Laney didn't appreciate the implication that she too was a busybody, and Lillian didn't support spying on people's personal business. He had to admit that he was impressed with the way she seemed so uninterested in the interaction between Ash and Georgia. Even he, who prided himself on staying out of other people's affairs, had been roped in by curiosity. However, it was another thing to note about Lillian – she apparently did not approve of nosiness.

"I was looking for Cam, actually," Lillian answered.

"Oh," said Laney.

"Oh," said Cam. "Do you want to go for a walk or something?"

"Sure."

He wasn't sure why he asked her, considering she hadn't yet stated her business with him, but he was glad that he did and he was glad that she had said yes and he was glad that she had come looking for him. He told Laney thanks for whatever it was she had been planning to entertain him with for the evening and held the door open, smiling at Lillian as she stepped past him, wearing a patronizing smile of her own. He wondered when he would get to see her real smile.

"I found a flower, and I wanted you to tell me what it is," she explained as they went.

"Oh."

"You sound disappointed. Were you hoping I was coming to tell you all about why I cried?"

He was more stunned that she had said it then he was that she had caught on so easily to his disappointment. They had been referring to it in such vague terms that for it to finally come out as what it was – crying – seemed odd. He stumbled over several words before saying, "No."

Lillian smiled at him. "Then let's get going."

Cam couldn't help looking for Ash as they went, constantly peering around the corners of the town to see if they had attempted to move to a more private location. They weren't anywhere out in the open, so he suspected they had either gone to the forest or were in one of their houses. The more he thought about them, the more confused he was. Was Ash suddenly…returning Georgia's feelings? That didn't seem likely. What was Ash thinking? Why would he do that? Why would he let her kiss him? Why would he let it go on for that long? He wasn't the one to pull away. Every question that came into Cam's mind invited plenty more, and soon his head was swarming so much with thoughts and confusion directed towards his best friend that Lillian could have confessed exactly why she cried and he wouldn't have heard a thing.

Finally he said, "Have you…talked to Ash lately?"

"Yes, I have," she answered, shooting him a knowing look as they crossed from city district into forest territory. It seemed the flower wasn't in the first groove of the mountain, for Lillian's steps didn't slow in the least. These new boots somehow gave her a superb new grip on the terrain, for she rushed ahead of him easily, forcing him to nearly jog beside her in an attempt to keep up. His own sneakers slid along the wet dirt and rocks, tripping him up constantly. He wished she had just brought the flower to him.

Why didn't she bring it to him?

"Hey, why didn't you just bring the flower to Howard's?" he asked.

"That was quite a subject change."

"Oh. I want to go back to the first topic afterwards."

Lillian laughed, but it was more at him than with him. He figured that he deserved it. "I didn't bring it because I thought you would want to go for a walk."

"But-"

"And now back to Ash."

So that was it. She asked him because she thought he would want to go for a walk. He lingered on this for a few moments, finding he was suddenly even more curious. So curious any thoughts of Ash had left his head. He paused, one foot raised above the ground in preparation for his next step, and thought. "Uh…how is he?"

"He's alright. I'm sure he misses talking to you, if that's what you're wondering about."

"...I didn't say that."

"I am aware of that."

Cam watched her from the corner of his eye, careful to never directly look at her. How was she able to read him so well? He had been desperate to get out of the house and do something besides be pampered by Laney. He was wondering if Ash missed him. Was she somehow able to read him or was she just good at reading people in general? He walked carefully as they continued through the forest, struggling to come up with something intelligent to reply with. He finally said, "Do you know anything about him and Georgia?"

"No. I don't have a clue. All I know is what I saw, and I saw roughly the same thing as you when I was on my way to see you."

"…Did he see you?"

"No, but Georgia did. I hope she's not offended that I didn't wave. I thought it would ruin the mood of the situation."

Cam smiled at that comment, but couldn't help being thrown off by it. Ash, completely unaware that Lillian was behind him, kissed by Georgia. Would he have let her kiss him and not pulled away had he known Lillian was there, or had he so readily forsaken any chance of a relationship with her? Cam pretended he did not feel a rush of hope that he had, that he had given up being with Lillian, that he had turned his affections towards Georgia, that it was solely Cam in the running for Lillian now. He prepared to ask something else when Lillian suddenly said, "I lied."

"What?"

"I didn't just come to see you because I wanted to ask you about the flower," she admitted. She stopped and leaned against a tree, bushes scattered around them. Cam stopped before her.

"Oh," he said.

"I think I hurt Ash's feelings, and I know right now you two aren't exactly speaking, but I wanted to talk to you about it. I never wanted to hurt him, and I never thought I was, but after talking to him…I'm just really worried I hurt him. Not so worried after seeing him with Georgia, but still…I'm worried about a lot of things. My friendship with Ash is very important to me, and I'd like to be friends with Georgia as well…"  
Cam was alarmed with the quickness, the anxiety, in her words. "What exactly happened that makes you think you hurt his feelings?" he asked, feeling utterly lost.

Lillian took a deep breath and murmured, "Ash told me that he wanted to date me."

This time Cam did not bother attempting to come up with a response. The first feelings that swept through him were cruel and embarrassed him. The next were complete fear for Lillian's subsequent statement. Was she going to say that she had broken his heart, or that she had suggested she had feelings for him as well but decided to turn him down? What if she was going to say she now regretted it and wanted to be with him? _No, that's not it. She said not so worried now_. But still…but still…

"Cam?"

"…Uh…what did you say? To him, I mean."

Lillian looked away, biting her lower lip. Every second that she hesitated was another second of agony for Cam. He was shocked by the way his worries gripped him – _seized _him. Had he already come to care for her so much? _No_, he thought. _This is normal_. He had just ever had such feelings for someone before.

"I told him that I was sorry, but…at this time…ugh, it was hard enough to tell _him_…" Lillian sighed, folding her arms across her chest. Her fingernails were edged with blood and hangnails. No pastel pink color. "I just got out of a really long relationship from the city. I went out with the guy all throughout high school and when we broke up…it was pretty hard for me. We broke up just before my nineteenth birthday, and I moved here _on_ my birthday. I just wanted a change of scenery and…to get away from all of those memories, I guess. So…I had to turn Ash down. I'm not ready to even consider another relationship when I just got out of one. Do you think…Ash will take that hard?"

Cam held her violet eyes for a moment, staring fixedly into them. A boyfriend through high school, up until her nineteenth birthday. Roughly five years. Five years, gone. Five years growing up together. Growing up with someone for five years, then over. Over. And heartbroken enough to move away. "Oh," he managed, dropping his eyes to the ground. "I think he'll understand."

"A…are you sure? I really don't want to hurt his feelings. I didn't mean to…I don't want him to feel like I led him on or anything…I really hope I didn't do that…I told him that maybe after more time had passed I could see him as something more, but right now all he is to me is a friend and…I hope that didn't hurt him."

"Don't worry about it. It's not your fault." He looked out in the distance, towards the flowers that she hadn't actually wanted him to name. He should have realized something weird was going on with that explanation – she knew most flower names as well as he did. Lillian turned an anxious face to him and he continued with, "Ash will understand. I can't say I know what he's thinking right now but…I'll talk to him, alright? So don't worry."

Lillian hesitated and then, for one fleeting second, she gave him a genuine smile. It was gone instantly, and he was left wondering if perhaps he had only wished so much to see her smile that he had imagined it. But it happened, it was there, and he locked it inside his chest so it would rattle painfully around and remind him constantly that that smile had been given to her old love for five years and had been destroyed so mercilessly that she had moved to Bluebell for refuge. He longed to ask more about her relationship, for all he knew was that it was painful, but found he was too afraid to do so. Did he break up with her, or she with him, or was it mutual? Why? Had something happened or had feelings died? Was it guilt that caused her to cry that first day he met her, or was it a deep yearning for someone who had devastated her? He could never be sure with her. It was her. She was inconsistent. That was why he liked her.

"Even you can be well-worded sometimes, huh?" she asked, her voice either teasing or struggling not to cry. "Thanks for talking to me and…everything else. I'll be sure to keep you in mind next time I go to the river to cry alone. I'll invite you to watch again."

"Is…is _that _why you were crying?"

"Exactly. Maybe I was lying when I told you I didn't invite you out here to tell you all about why I was crying. I think that's exactly what I did. Well, I'm going over to Konohana now. I'll see you…when I see you, I guess."

Cam tried to ask more questions, but his mouth was dry. He lifted his hand and she laughed at the awkwardness and saluted him before she turned and walked away. She was acting happier than usual, so that was how he knew to look for the telltale signs of slumped shoulders and dragged steps to learn that she was actually miserable. Only she, he decided, could solve his mystery for him and open up a whole other Pandora's box of confusion. He thought of her smile and kept it in his mind as he walked back to Bluebell, knowing it was inevitable to meet his best friend now.

* * *

"Would you like more tea, Mr. Bloom?"

"Uh…yeah. I guess."

Cam stared at Cheryl blankly as she poured imaginary tea into the cracked yellow mug he was holding. She hummed to herself as she went – a melody he remembered Mikhail playing at the last festival. So rarely did he hear that song that he enjoyed listening to the young girl replaying it for him. He pulled the mug back when she lifted her pretend pot, and when she stared expectantly at him he lifted it to his lips. Cam was never very good at pretend, but Cheryl was very good, so she even did a good job of pretending Cam was doing a good job of pretending.

"Our guest will be here shortly," she told him. "I apologize for his lateness."

"…Your mom still homeschooling you?"

"Indubitably."

"…Right."

He wasn't sure where Jessica was either, but wished that someone – _anyone _– would walk in and rescue him from Cheryl's makeshift tea party. It wasn't that he disliked his best friend's sister, for she was a sweet girl on her own – as long as you weren't a potential girlfriend of Ash's, of course. He had greatly enjoyed the day she slipped a bug into Laney's strawberry shortcake, and watching Georgia sneeze for ten minutes straight after trying to reach a book on the top shelf of Cheryl's bookcase only to knock a handful of pepper down as well was hilarious too. But playing tea party was perhaps his least favorite game in all the games of the world, and he longed for her to give up the charade and tell him where Ash was.

"Ash has been spending a lot of time with girls lately," Cheryl suddenly declared. "Two of them in particular. Right now he's with the _neighbor _somewhere, for instance."

Cam struggled to suppress an uncharacteristic smirk. He adored his trio of friends, and it was because he loved the three of them so that he loved seeing them wind up in sticky, uncomfortable, oftentimes embarrassing situations. One of his favorites was Cheryl's frequent use of Georgia's nickname – "the _neighbor_," which was always said with a hint of disgust.

"But it's been more than just her. Lately every day the new farmer comes by – Lillian. She gives me a present and takes care of my requests and then she stays here for hours with Ash. I try to interrupt them by inviting her to play with _me _instead, but she doesn't even seem to mind! I can't decide if I like her or not. Mom said that Lillian could end up being my big sister…maybe that wouldn't be _too_bad."

Cam looked at her in surprise, his eyes widened with awe. Never before had he heard Cheryl refer to any female under the age of thirty who had the misfortune of being caught speaking to Ash by their _name. _To hear her call Lillian in such a manner terrified him. Even _Cheryl _was pro-Ash and Lillian. Luckily he still had one defense up his sleeve – the kiss. The kiss he had seen, Laney had seen, _and _Lillian had seen. He comforted himself by saying that Lillian wouldn't fall for Ash after seeing that. There was no way. It wouldn't happen. It couldn't happen.

"You hang out with her sometimes too, right? Ash said so," Cheryl told him, slamming her imaginary pot on the table. "Do you like her?"

"Uh…she's very nice…"

"He likes her."

Ash put a gentle hand atop Cheryl's head, playfully ruffling her hair. She squealed in horror at his interference with her carefully placed pigtails, but Cam sensed a sort of calm reassurance in her that she had been greeted in such a regular manner. Ash glanced at Cam and then back to his sister and then to the empty mug. "Are you thirsty or something?"

"No, uh…"

"We were having a tea party!" Cheryl exclaimed.

A grin spread across Ash's face, and he rushed to the kitchen, sweeping a drawer open and pulling out his mother's old polaroid. Cam grimaced, but Cheryl cheered at the sight of the camera. "Pose for the picture, Cheryl," Ash told her gleefully.

Cheryl leapt onto Cam's back, and he groaned in response. She wasn't as light as she had been as a toddler, after all. She held up a peace sign for the camera and said, "Hold up your tea cup, Cam!"

Cam grimaced towards the camera, tea cup in the air, avoiding making eye contact with Ash as he stared to the side instead. Ash smiled and snapped the picture, waving it in the air once it had developed fully and then holding it out to Cheryl. "Decorate it and write all about what you two did and the date so I can show everyone your party. Do it in your room though, so you don't make a mess."

"'Kay!" she cheered, snatching the picture from her brother's hands and dancing to her room. Cam hurriedly set down the yellow mug and returned to his seat.

"Isn't she too old for tea parties?"

"She doesn't have any friends her age, so she's stuck playing dumb games like this," Ash answered with a shrug. "Maybe if she met the kids in Konohana she'd play something like tag, but for now she's stuck on tea parties. This is her fifth this week."

Ash sat opposite him, and they were silent for several long moments. Cam held no lingering grudge over the photograph – it was a hobby of his friends to try and catch him in humiliating positions, and _especially _when he was doing something completely uncharacteristic of himself, such as humoring a child. Instead he wondered who Ash would show the photograph to – hopefully not Lillian – as he prolonged the silence in hopes he would not have to be the one to start the conversation.

That meant several _more _long moments drew by before Ash finally leaned forward against his knees and said, "Have you seen Lillian today?"

"Yeah."

"…Damn. What all did she tell you?"

"That you confessed to her and she turned you down because she's still hurt over her last relationship."

"She really didn't leave anything out."

"Well, she didn't say the exact words."

"That's reassuring," Ash shrugged, leaning back once more and sighing. "I felt so lame. And I felt really embarrassed, and I knew she felt embarrassed and bad too. I've been trying to avoid her as much as I've been trying to avoid you, but I should have known she'd go and tell you, thinking you would have some sort of magic advice to offer up that would make it easier for her to run around knowing she had broken my heart."

Cam glanced at him, feeling annoyance rise up in him. "She felt bad."

"I know that. I know she felt bad. That makes it even worse. To be turned down and know that as bad as you're feeling, she's feeling even worse knowing she was the difference between your happiness and your disappointment…it's really awful, isn't it? It made me realize how Georgia has been feeling all this time."

Cam folded his hands in his lap, watching his friend curiously. "We all saw you with Georgia today. Me, Laney _and _Lillian."

"Georgia told me. Afterwards. That Lillian had seen, I mean. I kind of expected you and Laney to find out some way, she's so nosey."

"That's essentially what Lillian said."

He smiled and then groaned, putting his face in his hands. "It sucks. Don't tell me things like that. It makes me like her more than I already do."

"Then tell me about Georgia instead."

Ash sighed once more, sliding his hands back into his lap. He looked extremely reluctant to speak, which made sense. Obviously he knew what Cam was going to think about his actions, and he wanted to word it carefully. That's what Cam believed, because he didn't want to believe that even Ash was ashamed of what had happened between he and a girl he didn't love.

"She confessed to me again today. What's that make it…twelve times? Thirteen?"

"I think we're on fifteen now."

"Fifteen. It's like, at least twice every year. Which anyone else would think is funny, but I know it's not funny. I know it's my fault, because I can't _stand _to hurt her and because every time I turn her down I say that maybe one day, maybe, maybe. That's what Lillian told me too, and that's why I didn't believe her when she said it. So when Georgia confessed to me today, I told her that I wasn't sure if I was ever going to return her feelings. I said I didn't know how I felt about anything, and that I was confused, and that probably made her think I was confused about her, when in reality, I was confused about Lillian."

"Probably."

Ash glared at him, and he muttered an apology. Ash was obviously already guilty, which meant he didn't need to try and deepen that guilt. They returned to quiet for a moment, Cam reluctant to press him anymore, until Ash was ready to speak again. "She told me that she just wanted to try going out for two weeks. She said if, at the end of those two weeks, I still said I couldn't return her feelings, she would never express any feelings for me again and she would genuinely give up and move on. She said she just wanted two weeks together. Two weeks."

"Two weeks is a long time."

"It's also a very short time."

"That's true too."

"I didn't want to go along with it, but…I didn't know what else to say. She was begging me. I thought that maybe after two weeks, I could like her too. That would be nice, wouldn't it?"

"It would be nice."

"It's probably not going to happen."

"Probably not."

"Do you think I'm a bad person?"

Cam put his hand on his friend's shoulder and offered a small smile. "No. I think you're a good person. I know you don't want to hurt her, and I know you don't want to lead her on. If you don't have feelings for her after these two weeks then you can say you've tried everything, but she's just a platonic friend to you. Unless…you do develop feelings."

He thought of the kiss, and he saw Ash hesitate for a moment. "I don't know," he murmured finally. "I don't know. Feelings don't go away. They have to go somewhere. So…where would my feelings for Lillian go?"

They met each other's eyes and looked away. That question was too hard for either of them to answer. Cam instead asked, "Do you know what yellow roses mean?"

"Uh…friendship, right?"

"Sometimes. That's the clichéd view of a yellow rose, at least. But flowers can mean a lot of different things, you know."

"I know. You've told me that a lot of times. What are the other meanings?"

"It used to be given to mean a dying relationship. Feelings of jealousy and lost love."

"What does that mean? I'm feeling jealous, definitely. Lillian tells me something serious out of pity only to tell you the next day. That's pretty infuriating. Or are you trying to say that my feelings can be lost? That they'll just go away?"

"It could just be yellow roses mean platonic friendship. They were sometimes given as a 'no hard feelings' for when you turn someone down."

Ash laughed without humor. It reminded Cam a little of Lillian. "You never make any sense," he murmured. "Never. You always leave me to figure out what you mean. Like when we were little and you would tell me which flowers I was like…you never explained it. You said the meaning and I'd stay up for hours trying to figure out what that had to do with me. You can't give me a little advice now?"

"Remember their feelings."

"That's a threat, not advice."

"Yeah. Yeah, it is."

Ash sighed. "You've changed a lot. I'm still trying to decide if I like the way you are with her influence or not. Right now it's just kind of annoying. I'm going to go color on that picture of you and show it to Lillian so I feel better."

Cam smiled. "Okay."

"Thanks for talking to me, Cam."

Two people had told him that in one day. It forced him to take a step back and recognize the first time for what it was – hints of friendship. He and Lillian could be friends. And maybe, maybe, maybe, he could convince her to give him two weeks. But that was out of the question, and he never really considered it. But it was there, just in case. He wouldn't throw away any possibilities when it came to her.


	5. Thrift

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own Harvest Moon or anything associated with it._

_**Author's Note**__: This update is really late, and for that I am very sorry. Time for this story is limited, but I hopeee the long chapters make up for it haha. I'm also behind on updating my other story too, so right now I'm pretty awful overall. :P I've been sick and dealing with my first big college assignments and my boyfriend's ear drum ruptured leaving him in constant pain (he has a really low pain threshold it is ridiculous, he flips out over like a cat scratch) and needing a lot of attention so things have been a little busy haha. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and I will try my hardest to get the next up quickly, but I really can't make any promises. Thank you all for understanding, and thank you for the reviews, follows, favorites, and just reading. (:_

* * *

_Daffodils contain a toxic sap that is harmful to other flowers. When arranging in a vase you should not mix them with other flowers unless precautionary steps are taken before._

* * *

"Thanks for helping me."

"Yeah. I'm glad I could be helpful."

"I'll see you around then."

"Sure. I'll see you around."

Cam looked between Laney and Lillian with a frown, following Lillian when she turned her slightly forced smile towards the door and marched out. He waited until the bell clanged against the door frame behind them, their exit sealed, before he asked, "Do you two like…dislike each other, or something?"

A week had passed since Lillian had spoken of her relationship to Cam and he had finally begun to speak with Ash again. He had fed false information about Ash being just fine to Lillian, which comforted her enormously, and sent information towards Ash about how guilty Lillian felt, which comforted him sort of, sometimes. Now he worked as either the middle man between the two guilty parties or simply as someone who hung on Lillian's every single word. Either worked.

"It's not that I…_dislike _Laney," Lillian told him thoughtfully, shrugging.

"You always seem perfectly fine when you talk to anybody else, but me and Laney…well, you, er, talk to Laney even less and more awkwardly than you speak to me."

"I knew you couldn't keep up your recent streak of eloquence."

Cam kept walking beside her as she passed through town, stopping at the request board, stopping to greet Enrique as he swept the filth from his walkway, and stopping to watch Georgia's horses parade around their miniature pasture. "Sorry," he finally said. "It's just that I don't get why you would feel uncomfortable around her of all people."

"Why do you say that?" Lillian asked curiously. She turned to him, genuinely interested in hearing his answer, and he felt himself freeze up. He wanted to tell her why exactly that was, but he found his words were suddenly stunted and awkward now that he knew she was awaiting them.

"Uh…well…she's really nice…and easy to talk to…and she always tries to make sure people feel alright…she takes care of people a lot…so it's weird to think that somebody could feel er, not comfortable around her."

Lillian tilted her head to the side. Georgia walked up to them, which Cam was privately relieved for. He had the strange feeling that Lillian hadn't been planning on saying anything at all, and was instead fully intending to stare at him until he felt himself shrink before her eyes. She turned a bright smile to Georgia and said, "Hello! The horses look beautiful. Which one is Dakota?"

Georgia looked thrilled to see that Lillian had remembered the name of her treasured mare and quickly pointed her out. "She's right there – brown with a patch of dirt on her flank, the silly thing. I've been tryin' to keep her clean, but somehow she always looks a right mess when all is said and done. I just washed her, too!"

They laughed together, and Cam looked from brunette to redhead to blonde's home with confusion. Georgia was usually a lot harder for people to get along with. While she was sweet, she was brash and bold and hard to swallow. If Georgia was the medicine, sharp down your throat but overall did you some good, Laney was sugar, sweet all the way down though she lacked any edge whatsoever. Everyone usually swarmed towards Laney, so why did Lillian look so awkward whenever they were forced to spend time together? He looked at her questioningly and she snapped her gaze to him and said, "Shouldn't you be getting back to Laney?"

"Uh…I guess?"

And that was it. Dismissed. Georgia waved at him as he retreated towards his home, his heart dragging along the ground behind him. He wasn't sure what he had done to earn such a sharp tone from Lillian, but he knew it must have been _something_. Something that only added to her mystique. That mystery was losing its charm. He wanted the Lillian who had smiled at him and confided in him. He wanted her more than he had before, now that he had a taste of the joy her openness could bring. He had a taste and he wanted more, but he wasn't sure how to go about getting more of who she really was to come out for him.

* * *

"Lillian and Georgia are practically inseparable lately," Ash said. He and Cam sat together on the edge of his fence, watching Georgia instruct Lillian on how to properly clean a horse's hoof. Lillian held the pick in hand with a determination that mirrored Georgia's common expression. They had been spending far too much time together, in Cam's opinion. Soon enough Lillian would be punching him in the arm when he amused her and demanding a discount on flowers and possibly falling over herself for Ash, and that was not acceptable.

"Shouldn't you and Georgia be inseparable?"

"She says that she wants to hang out, but Lillian keeps making plans with her. I don't think she minds much, though. Georgia seems to like her a lot. She says that she's a lot more open to stuff Georgia likes than Laney."

Cam nodded. "Yeah, that's true. Laney hates horses."

"She did get bucked off of one."

"That's true. I would hate horses too if I were her."

"Shouldn't you and Lillian be a little more inseparable?" Ash asked, wearing a smiled tinged with mocking. It was a smile meant to degenerate Cam as much as Ash had degraded himself for countless hours in his mind. "I thought you two were set to be friends and now she hardly even looks at you."

"Dunno. She's been annoyed with me lately."

"What did you do?"

"Dunno."

Ash laughed. "That's just like you. You upset her, but you have no clue how you did it, and – let me guess – you're not going to bother asking her why she's upset because that would break from your art of keeping to yourself. Am I right?"

Cam made a face. It was perfectly acceptable for him to acknowledge his reluctance to branch out and confide in others, but when Ash recognized it, it suddenly stung. Both boys wanted to inflict the other with the same amount of pain they were feeling, only Ash was much better at it. Cam stepped up his plan and said, "I'll ask her."

"Really." Ash's tone remained disbelieving. It was a statement more than a question.

"Yes."

"Okay. I'll help you. Lillian, could you come over here real fast?"

Lillian looked towards Ash in surprise, and Cam kicked the fence hard and forced Ash to fall forward. He caught himself before he struck the dirt and beckoned her over. Georgia watched her every move as she daintily clambered over the fence and headed towards them, still wearing that work outfit that Cam wished she would exchange for the dress and yellow vest of before. He wondered how Georgia would feel about Lillian when she found out that her sort of boyfriend was hopelessly crushing on the brunette.

"What is it?" Lillian asked Ash, her voice sweet.

"Cam wants to talk to you."

"What is it?" Lillian asked Cam, her voice flat.

Ash put his hand on her shoulder and told Cam, "Go ahead, then! I'll be with Georgia. Talk to you later."

Georgia was relieved to see Ash join her side, and he readily took the pick Lillian had abandoned and cleaned the hoof with expertise. Cam looked at Lillian and she looked at him and he said, "Sorry about that."

"It's fine. What do you want?"

"Uh…"

"Just say it," she said, prodding his shoe with the toe of her new boots. Her nails were pastel pink.

"When you did you paint your nails?" he asked. Lillian's nails were not supposed to be painted, and being painted the same color as the other two Bluebell girls was even stranger.

"Georgia painted them for me just a little bit ago. She borrowed it from your friend."

"From my friend?" Cam repeated. "Laney?"

"Yes."

"…Is this about Laney?"

"Is your question about Laney? How am I supposed to know, Cam?"

They stared at each other for a moment, and then Cam frowned. "Are you angry at me because of something to do with Laney?"

"No." She answered very quickly, and her voice rose.

"I don't understand," he said. "What's your issue with Laney?"

"Nothing."

"There has to be something."

"No there's not."

"But-"

"_Cam_," Lillian replied firmly. "I'm not upset about anything that has to do with Laney. I'm not upset at you. So let's just drop it and move on, alright?"

"Alright."

She sighed. "Don't say it in such a defeated tone. It makes me feel bad."

"My tone isn't defeated." His protest came out in a defeated voice, and she laughed this time. He smiled, pleased that he had made her laugh. She looked at Georgia and Ash and frowned.

"You ruined my plan."

"Huh?"

Lillian looked around for a moment and then mumbled, "Come on a walk with me, would you? Let's go to Konohana again. I'll buy us two separate dishes this time."

"I can pay for it."

"Don't be difficult," she said, standing back and gesturing for him to follow her. She smiled again, a teasing one, and told him, "I offered to pay, so let me. I'm the one dragging you all the way to Konohana, anyways."

Lillian could have dragged him anywhere she wanted. If she had desired a trip to the far off Forget-Me-Not Valley or the coastal Mineral Town, Cam would have gladly followed her. This was truly such a small request when he considered the vast power she held over him. He stood up and glanced at Ash, whose attention was being captivated by Dakota's ornery behavior, and followed Lillian down the path towards Konohana. He would try to pay for his meal there. It was the smallest gesture he could offer her without feeling a wave of humiliation.

* * *

"I wish Howard made some of this every once in a while," Lillian said, gesturing to her green rice candy. Cam looked at the dish she had bought for him and nodded. In truth, he didn't have much of a taste for Konohana's cultural meals, but if she wanted them, he wanted them, he wanted them all the time.

"How long have you lived with Howard?" she asked next.

Cam thought about it for a moment and then said, "Nine years? I think I moved here when I was ten."

"We're the same age then," Lillian said.

"Hmm," Cam answered.

"Have you always liked living with Howard and Laney?" she asked.

Cam nodded readily. "Howard's been good to me all these years. He's taken care of me fine, like an actual dad, so I've never minded living with him."

Lillian opened her mouth and promptly closed it. Cam heard her question anyways. _Why did you move in with them?_ Even she could limit her own words. Cam considered answering the unspoken question, but he was unable to speak about it either. He looked at his green rice candy and took a bite. A little too sweet, but Lillian took to it well. She would get along well with Laney, if she put aside whatever her problem with her was.

"Konohana is pretty," Lillian said. "I almost wish I had moved here."

Cam looked at her very suddenly, and she laughed at the expression on his face. Her living in Konohana didn't make sense. She lived in Bluebell. With him. That's where she was supposed to be. "It's nice," he muttered, embarrassed.

"Do you ever think about moving away?" she asked.

He wasn't sure what the point of any of these questions were. He wasn't getting any closer to finding out what plan he had ruined, and the more time passed the more his anxiety grew. _What plan_? Who did it involve? The unanswered questions built themselves a fortress around him that made it unable to hold a proper conversation. His answers were brief and not helpful at all.

"No," he said.

"Why not?"

"Uh, I don't know. I just don't particularly want to move away."

Lillian smiled. "That's a nice thought." She looked away, staring out the window for a moment. "I always want to move somewhere new, but I'm content with staying in Bluebell for now."

Cam looked down at a table cloth Yun had chosen to mold with the rest of the shop's theme. Soft lilac, hard violet, diamonds and loops and words written in a foreign language. He hoped she would remain complacent for the rest of her life and live in the same town as him for always.

"I'm boring you, aren't I?" Lillian asked. She was still staring out the window. Trees were shivering in the light wind outside. There were absolutely no clouds, and so the palest blue sky Cam had ever seen hung unmarred above them.

"No. You never bore me."

Lillian looked at him and he stared at the table cloth and so she turned and stared out the window again. He couldn't bear the weight of the words he had just said. They threatened to cave him in. How humiliating, he thought, to freely choose to voice your feelings in such a subtle, open manner. He was leaving himself vulnerable and weak and she was too strong and fierce to miss that opportunity.

But she was kind enough to pretend it wasn't there. "I've been trying to spend as much time with Georgia as possible lately. She told me everything about her and Ash. About how she asked him to stay with her for two weeks. I know he's only going to hurt her in the end, so I've been spending all of my time with her so she doesn't get a chance to play out this fake relationship with him. I know how it hurts to have your heart broken. It'll be worse for Georgia. She can't run away afterwards."

"You ran away?"

"I ran away."

Silence covered them, too thin of a blanket to provide any warmth. The atmosphere was cold. "Oh," Cam said.

"Georgia is going to get hurt no matter how much time I spend with her," Lillian's voice was a mumble, barely audible beneath the sound of Yun putting together more of the only two dishes she offered. Cam wondered what she did with all of the extras. "But I can try to make it hurt a little less."

"But…"

"But what?" she asked, her head tilted to the side, hanging above her right shoulder. Cam's words were hesitant, which meant they had a purpose.

"Won't she blame you then, when Ash turns her down? She'll think you ruined her chance to spend time with him, and that you ruined her chance to get him to like her."

Lillian shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know. If that's how her mind works, she'll come to it. But I don't want Ash to hurt her. To confess to me and kiss her the next day…it bothers me. It's wrong."

Cam looked away. "Ash isn't trying to hurt her. He doesn't know what else to do."

"I don't know the entire situation, so I'm sorry if I'm blaming your friend," Lillian replied. Her voice was hard. "But in my eyes, he's leading her on and he's okay with that. This game didn't include kissing, after all. He didn't have to do that."

Cam was too defensive of his friend to let this slide. "Well, you don't know the whole situation, so you don't understand. Georgia has been obsessed with him for years and no matter what he does or how many times he tries to let her down, she keeps coming. He doesn't want to hurt her. He _doesn't_."

"I never said he did. Ash is a good person. I know that. I don't think he would try to hurt anyone. But maybe he doesn't understand her feelings in the first place. It's easy to reject someone's feelings, but it's hard to acknowledge them. I acknowledged his feelings and I treat him with them in mind. To reject those feelings and pretend they don't exist…it's cruel. No matter how uncomfortable it is to see someone's feelings, you need to do it, or you're just being selfish and picking an easy out."

"_She _asked him to pretend it didn't happen."

"I have no doubt that she did," Lillian snapped, rising to her feet. "But that didn't mean he had to do it all these times. Treating someone with kindness when you know that every ounce of that kindness hurts…it's cruel."

"So what do you think he should do? Ignore her, look awkward around her, make her regret ever confiding in him?" Cam rose to his feet and snatched her empty plate before she got the chance to toss it, and did so himself. He would do at least one act of kindness for her, even as he argued with her. "When someone trusts you enough to tell you something serious, you respect them enough to do as they ask you."

"Is that why you pretend I never told you anything?" Lillian replied, her voice hot.

"Am I supposed to treat you a different way? Like you're fragile?" He regretted the words as they left his mouth, but they seeped out. An issue he almost never had. His anger had risen at the doubt of his friend's character, and he wanted to argue with everything she said until she took her words back.

Lillian looked at him in a very fleeting, harsh way, and then she stormed out. Cam threw his own plate away and followed her. She was walking very fast, and he was forced to jog for a moment to catch up with her. Rahi and Ying watched with confused eyes as they strode past them.

"Don't follow me," she snapped.

"I have to get back to Bluebell too," Cam pointed out.

"Then wait so I don't have to go with you," Lillian said. "I'm asking you to do that, so respect my choice, would you?"

Cam made a face at her use of his words against him and followed her along the mountain path even when she was close to running. "Lillian," he said, trying to catch her hands that swung as she power walked. "_Lillian_."

He caught her hand and she spun on him like she would strike him. There was a brief hideous anger in her eyes that suggested she wanted to strike down the entire world so they could all feel her frustration. This was bigger than Georgia and Ash and much bigger than him. She looked ready to shout at him, but he interrupted her. "Do you _want _me to treat you differently?"

"I…" she drifted off, looking confused. "I don't…"

"How do you want me to treat you?"

Lillian looked up at him and shook her head. "I don't know. Differently. I want you to treat me differently."

"I do treat you differently. I treat you differently from everyone else."

"I don't think you do."

Cam released her hand and shook his head. "I do. I really do."

Lillian turned away from him and watched the stream trickle down towards Konohana. There were fresh hoof prints in the dirt. Two sets. Georgia had gone riding with Ash, and they were alone somewhere now. Lillian had let that happen to take time out of her plan to be alone with Cam.

"I'm sorry." He watched her as she turned and looked at him, her eyes a little wide. "I'm sorry about what I said. I understand. What you meant, I mean. I understand. But I don't think Ash is the only one at fault here."

"I don't want to blame Georgia. She's a victim. I hate blaming the victim," Lillian told him. Her voice was a little teasing, like she knew those words were laughable.

"Ash is a bit of a victim too."

"I know. I know after hearing you. It's hard to put yourself in the shoes of the other person no matter which person you start as. It's hard to look at someone whose breaking another person's heart and feel bad for them. But…maybe I am doing the same thing to Ash that he is doing to Georgia. Only I wouldn't okay his two weeks plan."

"What if he confessed to you over and over and over again?"

Lillian smiled. "I don't know. I guess that's true. I don't know what I would do."

"I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I snapped at you. You didn't do anything wrong. Nothing at all. It's nice of you to stick up for Ash so much. I wouldn't expect anything else from you. I'm just acting…wrong. This isn't how I usually act."

Lillian put her hand to her forehead, as though checking a fever. Her cheeks were slightly flushed. _It's because it means a lot to her_, Cam knew. _It's because she knows what it's like to be in Georgia's place_. So that meant…she had been broken up with by her boyfriend? Five years. That was a very long time to build up a heart break. She really did care about Georgia.

Cam gently put the back of his hand against her forehead and offered an excuse. "Maybe you're sick."

Lillian smiled. "Maybe."

He removed his hand and said, "Will you tell me why you've been angry with me lately?"

Ash would be proud. Lillian sighed, shrugged, turned away and turned back. She didn't want to tell him. "A stupid reason," she said. "Just forget about it, would you? I'm sorry I've been acting weird."

"Forget about it," he said. "It's okay."

"Let's head back so I can find Georgia and interrupt her touching moment with Ash," Lillian told him, gesturing for him to follow her. She wore another smile. Cam had earned so many smiles today. They beat wildly in his stomach like butterflies. They were butterflies. The distance between them ached, and his hand burned from where it had touched her cool forehead.

"Wait."

"What is it?" she asked.

Cam struggled with his words, but he forced himself to say them. If he could use such harsh words against her, he could do the opposite…couldn't he? He wanted to do the opposite. "I'm glad you live in Bluebell," he said.

Lillian looked genuinely surprised, which made him feel like he had accomplished something very great. A tender, small smile wound its way onto her lips, a snake, a flower, always ready to bite, suddenly blooming. She could poison him or she could heal him. Often times she did both, likely just for fun. She looked and him and smiled and said, "Thank you, Cam." And then she turned and began to walk back towards Bluebell, but slowly until Cam joined her side, and then they walked a little faster.

* * *

Thrifts were not the most beautiful flower by far, but Cam liked what they added and he liked how simple they were to grow, as though they were perfectly natural. They had a simple natural allure. When he was a child and still lived with his parents, they would take him for drives along the coastline, and he would see the flowers growing furiously along the shore, fighting to make the world a more beautiful place, always fighting. In spring, they covered the ground. Sea thrift. That was what they were called. A type of perennial.

Cam learned this all after the accident. He had remembered the thrifts and had remembered his father pointing it out to his child again and again. He hadn't known their name then. He had fought to discover it. He poured through books about flowers until he found those familiar blossoms, bunched together in hordes.

Thrifts meant sympathy. Sympathy for the people hurt, but not always empathy. And there was a fine difference between sympathy and empathy. Cam learned that after the accident, before he moved to Bluebell. People pitied him, but that did not meant they could relate to him. It was only in Bluebell, full of other broken people, that Cam found empathy.

He sprawled out across his bed, staring at the ceiling Laney and Georgia had glued glow-in-the-dark stars to when it was Laney's playroom. They glowed pink and purple when the lights went off. Cam could close his eyes and see blotches of pastel spring colors through his lids. This also worked when he was thinking of his family, and could close his eyes and see them waiting for him, waiting to take him to see the thrifts.

But they were not there and they would not see the thrifts together again because they had lost the most precious element of flower observing, and sympathy did not mean empathy, and just because Lillian pitied Ash did not mean she understood him, and just because Cam pitied Georgia did not mean he understood her, and that was the way the world worked. Sympathy, not empathy.

* * *

"I haven't seen you much lately," Ash said. "How are you?"

His smile was etched on his lips, an attempt to save face before the girl who had unknowingly devastated him time and time again and knowingly devastated him once. Lillian smiled back at him, but it was not the smile he saw her give _him_, and that meant he hated that smile, no matter how beautiful it was. He still hadn't discovered if the smile Cam got was patronizing or tender. It seemed to be both at once. He needed to study it more. He hoped he never had to see it again.

"I'm good," said Lillian. "What about you?"

"Just fine."

"How are things with Georgia?"

"...Just fine."

Lillian smiled again. "I see. Are things busy with the shop lately?"

"Not particularly."

"I'm going to extend my chicken coop soon. Then I guess I'll be over here more often for feed. Jessica says chickens run through a lot of feed pretty quickly."

"They do. You can put them outside and they can fend for themselves, though, if you're ever tight on money." He hated himself for saying that, and regretted it when he thought about it. How much had his mother's stupid job been ingrained in him? Had he really just given her another excuse to avoid him? "But they prefer feed, of course."

"I'll keep that in mind," Lillian replied. She was wearing Ash's favorite outfit. The work clothes suited her perfectly. Cam didn't like it, he knew. He knew because Cam sometimes said that he thought Lillian's vest was nice and he wondered why she had changed outfits so suddenly. But Ash liked this on her and he liked everything on her. He liked to think that made his love better than Cam's sometimes, but it was not love and it was not better. It was a crush he naively carried and wanted to leave but couldn't and it stung so much it was easy to mistake it for love only he had never been in love, so how would he know?

"Alright."

"I wanted to ask you something about Cam."

Ash frowned. "If he did something dumb, I really can't help you much. That's just his personality. For instance, if he won't talk to you or if he only says really pointless, boring things when he does, I can't fix that."

Lillian laughed and shook her head. "No, that's not it. It's about something he mentioned the other day, but I didn't want to ask him to explain. I didn't think he wanted to talk about it, and knowing Cam I don't think he'll ever talk to me about anything."

Ash hesitated. "What…what is it?"

"I was…I was wondering why Cam moved here. He said he's been living here ever since he was ten, but I don't understand…why."

Ash looked to the side and then said, "I'm going to have to get permission from Cam before I tell you that one, Lillian."

"I understand."

"I want to tell you," he murmured, staring blankly past her, through her. "I do. But I couldn't invade his privacy. I'll ask him if it's alright if I tell you, since I know he'll never get around to telling you about it on his own, and if you're curious…well, then he should be fine with it. He's not too secretive about it, or anything. Everything knows, just…they heard it from Howard or Laney."

"I see."

Ash walked her towards her farm, and right when he was going to bid her a goodbye, right when he was going to do something foolish like hug her or touch her, she turned to him and said, "Can I ask you one more question?"

"Sure."

"Are Cam and Laney interested in each other?"

Something inside Ash's chest had shattered and now the different shards were puncturing his chest. He didn't answer for a moment. His first thought was, how cruel could she be? His next was, perhaps her question is so innocent that she doesn't even realize it could hurt me. He wasn't sure about anything when it came to her. He clenched his hands into fists in his pockets and said, "Not as far as I'm concerned. They've never expressed any interest in each other to me, at least. I'm pretty sure they're platonic."

"I see," Lillian said again. "Since you and Georgia are sort of an item right now, I thought that perhaps they were too."

"Nope. How did you find out about Georgia and I, anyways? I-"

"I saw you two the other day," Lillian told him. "And Georgia told me."

"Oh."

"See you around."

Lillian left Ash standing there, bleeding. He sat down on the bench beside the shipping bin and slumped forward, head between his knees. Frustration seeped from him like he really was bleeding, so he told himself he was bleeding, he was. That speck of red on the dirt was not plastic, it was blood, it was the injury Lillian had inflicted upon him. She _saw_. She _knew_. How much did she know? What did she think of him?

* * *

"I need to talk to you!"

"What is it?" Cam asked, rubbing his eyes. "It's late. Why are you here so late? Why couldn't you use the door?"

Ash clambered into the room through the window and perched himself on the foot of Cam's bed. Cam did not seem as surprised as he should have been and merely crawled back into bed, his feet resting beside Ash's seat, pulling the blankets back up around him. Cam was not very easy to communicate with normally, and when he had just woken up he was even worse. He mumbled some more things and then closed his eyes.

"Did you tell Lillian anything about me and Georgia?"

"Mhm."

"What did you tell her?!"

"Stuck up for you."

"Does she think I'm scum?"

"Said you're good person."

"What?"

"She said good person."

"…Okay. What else did she say? Did she think I was a jerk?"

"Not really. Kind of. Dunno. Said she knows how Georgia feels."

"Would you wake all the way up?!"

"I am up."

"Cam!"

He sighed and forced himself upright, still rubbing his eyes. "Sorry. What?"

"What did you and Lillian say about me and Georgia?"

Cam hesitated, which let Ash know the conversation hadn't gone well. "Er…she's been trying to spend a lot of time with Georgia so you can't, so you don't lead her on anymore than you are. She thought you were pretty awful for kissing her, but at the end of our conversation she seemed to be a little better about it. She said she understood you and…I can't remember." Cam yawned. Ash was glad that he had decided to rush to the boy's room so late in the night. It meant that Cam was a lot more open at the least, rather than shielding every piece of bad news from his best friend.

"Oh," Ash mumbled. "Thanks for sticking up for me then."

"How did you know that?"

"You just said!"

"Oh." Cam yawned once more. "Can I go back to sleep now?"

"Lillian asked me something about you."

Cam was suddenly very alert. "What? What did she ask?"

"Two things, actually."

"What were those two things?"

His voice contained an urgency Ash couldn't remember hearing from him before. "You really do like her," he noted. "I've never seen you get so worked up over something someone said about you before. You've never cared about people talking about you before."

Cam said nothing. He stared at Ash and shrugged instead. He refused to incriminate himself any further.

Ash rose to his feet and got one leg out of the window, carefully straddling the sill as he eased himself out. Cam stood before the window, hands at the ready to close it, but still watching Ash with a hopefulness. Hope that he would divulge his privileged information.

"She wants to know about why you moved here," Ash said.

The intrigue and excitement fell from Cam's eyes. "Oh."

"She asked me because she didn't think you'd ever tell her and I told her I would ask for your permission before I told her anything."

"…Well, go ahead. I don't care."

"That's just like you," Ash sighed. "Always saying that you don't care when you so obviously do care. Whatever you say, Cam. I'll be sure to tell her the next time I see her. I'll tell her you don't care too."

"Go ahead," Cam repeated.

Ash smiled without any trace of amusement. "I like some of how you act a lot better now, but there are some new aspects of you that I don't like as much. I'll see you tomorrow."

Cam's eyes dropped to the floor. He recognized those things Ash no longer appreciated in himself as well. The selfishness, the bitterness, the streak of cruelty and harshness he could feel for such pathetic reasons. He hated them too. "See you," he said.

Ash began to walk away, but just before Cam closed the window he turned and said, "One more thing."

His eyes were clouded. Cam couldn't recall seeing such a sad look on his face before. "What?" he asked.

Ash walked to the window and put his hands against it. "She asked if you and Laney have a thing for each other."

With that he shut the window and started walking away again. It was twelve, but he was still wearing his work clothes. He had spent the past few hours worrying, worrying and not sleeping. Cam watched him walk away until he was inside his house and could be watched no longer. Cam hated the happiness he felt. Lillian was angry at Laney all this time, and then asked if she liked Cam and he liked her…so where did that leave Lillian's feelings for Cam?

Stronger than before, at the least. Stronger than before.


	6. Gardenia

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own Harvest Moon or anything associated with it._

_**Author's Note**__: Thank you to my lone reviewer of the last chapter! :P Hahaha, and thanks to those of you who read and favorited/followed. I really hate when writers demand reviews in exchange for chapters haha– I am just as grateful for the favorites, follows and simply reading as I am for reviewing, so I want to make that clear and say I appreciate the attention this story is getting. (: This is a challenge to write because it's a more character driven story with a looser plot, but it's really interesting writing it out and I have a good time. I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can, but I can't make any guarantees. Chapters will almost always be updated on Tuesdays and Thursdays because those are the days I'm at college from eleven to nine. So, expect to see something _hopefully _this Thursday, but possibly Tuesday? Or in my four day weekend if I get swamped with college work and decide to take a break to write haha. Also this chapter marks the return of daffodil facts! I mostly ran out of facts before. But now I found more! Hahaha. Sorry for the inconsistency there. I'll try to go back and edit the past three chapters to include them. Thank you all for continuing to show interest in Daffodil, and I hope you like this chapter!_

* * *

_If taken proper care of, daffodils can outlast humans._

* * *

"Have you spoken to Ash?"

Lillian watched Cam as he leaned against her doorway, looking a little out of breath, as though he had made a split-second decision to fast-track to her ranch. And that was true, actually. Cam had been headed towards the forest to scavenge some of the wildflowers when he had looked over her shoulder at Lillian's and heard the same sentence echo in his head that had been echoing since the night before – _I want to be the one who tells her, not Ash_.

"No. Georgia got to him before I could get to either of them," Lillian said. She sighed and shrugged all at once and swung her door open. "Go ahead and come in. I'm making breakfast."

"Breakfast?" Cam looked at the clock, pointing to ten.

"I take care of the animals and crops before I eat." She opened her refrigerator and examined its contents. "Is a salad alright? I don't like eating anything too heavy in the morning."

"That's fine."

She pulled out some vegetables and yanked a knife from a carton full of heavy utensils and set to work. Cam stood beside her, watching. There was a self-made bouquet of magic blue flowers in a vase on the counter, and a wilted bouquet wrapped in a white ribbon beside her bed. She still hadn't tossed out his flowers, despite the other bouquet being extremely fresh. On her bed was a stuffed rabbit, worse for its wear, missing several stitches of its fake smile and the stuffing in its back left paw slipping through a slit in its toe. He drank in every detail he could.

"Ash helped me put up the wallpaper," Lillian said, gesturing to the flowery print hanging in the kitchen's corner. "Do you think it matches?"

Cam made a face and brushed his fingertips against the pale green spiraling stems. They were gardenias, obviously gardenias, and beautifully drawn. The white blooms were a stark contrast to the dark wood of her cabinets and drawers. The stems shouldn't have been so long though, and perhaps they should have been bunched together more. He decided not to let these details detract from it. "Yeah. It looks good," he said. "Why did Ash help you?"

"He offered. This is his mother's. She was going to use it in her room but decided on some rose prints instead. I like these gardenias a lot better."

Cam smiled, impressed. "You know they're gardenias?"

"Mhm. Unmistakable. But the stems are a little too long, and the flowers should be bunched together a little more. Of course…you knew that. You just didn't say it."

"I thought it would be rude."

Lillian smiled. "I didn't think you would be the type to worry about that."

"I'm sure everyone worries about that."

"Yes. They probably do. Most people."

"Gardenias mean secret love."

Lillian looked at Cam questioningly, and he averted his eyes. He looked at the gardenias. Studied them. They were wrong in so many aspects, but the actual flower…it was done beautifully. Love was the same way. Especially Cam's. But it wasn't love. It was a meager crush, and he hated himself for getting so worked up over it. He still got worked up over it. He glanced at Lillian and she smiled and said, "Ash told me you know a lot of flower meanings, and you randomly mention them. It's kind of impressive."

"Hmm…I guess."

"What else do they mean?"

"Huh?"

"Well, I was just thinking…a red rose can mean love, or courage, or respect, or desire, right?"

"…Yeah."

"So, are there any other meanings to gardenias?"

"Yes."

"Why are you making me explain myself if you understand?"

Cam smiled again. "Hospitality and grace. Those are the other two widely known meanings. Men used to pin them to their suits during the 19th century. Now they're supposedly good luck if given to a man."

Lillian pondered this for a moment and then finished cutting her vegetables, spilling them into separate bowls and opening the refrigerator again to pull out a bottle of dressing. "Interesting. Here. I don't have a table, though, or actual chairs. I'm in the process of upgrading right now. We can share a seat on the bed if you don't invade Poppy's space."

"The stuffed toy?" Cam asked, spilling some of the dressing onto his salad and wincing when Lillian stabbed a fork into his lettuce for him.

"Yep, the one and only."

Cam sat down between her and Poppy as she crossed her legs and took a bite. "Your house is pretty mature," he said.

"Except for this corner?" she finished.

Cam shrugged. "Laney's entire bed is full of stuffed animals."

Lillian stabbed her fork into her salad.

"I…uh…I mean…I think so. It was when we were little, at least."

"I see," Lillian replied. "Well, my mother gave me Poppy when I was younger, and I didn't have the heart to leave him behind. I threw out every old possession  
I owned for this move _except _for that rabbit. He was tainted more than anything by my life in the city, but…hmm. Look at his face. It's already so sad."

The strings that had detached themselves from his smile drooped below, turning the right side of his mouth into a frown. "I see what you mean," Cam said.

Lillian nodded and they continued to eat in silence. When they had finished their breakfast they still sat perched on her bed, holding the empty bowls in hand. Cam was reluctant to speak and shatter the kindness she had decided to show him, but she was not the same. "Why are you here, Cam?" she said.

"I…don't really know."

She looked away, a hand covering her mouth. He hoped it was a smile she was hiding and not a frown. "Hmm," she hummed to herself.

"I…can tell you about my past, if you still want to hear about it."

She looked up in surprise and then laughed. "Ash tells you everything, of course. I didn't think you'd ever actually tell me."

"Neither did I."

"Why the change of heart?"

"It's not Ash's story to tell."

"You're right." Lillian smiled at this and scooted back until she was leaning against the wall. Cam looked hesitantly behind him and she made a face, gesturing for him to make himself comfortable. He settled against the wall closer to Poppy than to her. "You really don't have to tell me, Cam. I won't be annoyed or anything of the sort if you say you want to keep it private. It's your business."

"It's the past," Cam said. "Besides, you told me about what happened…in the past."

Cam often got the same feeling about his past as he got when he was thinking about his situation with Lillian. An uncomfortable twinge that something bad had happened, was happening. He knew the culprit of the past, and he knew the issue he had now – the morality of falling for someone that Ash held so dear to him. It was the same unsettling question of right and wrong and why and how and how could something happen to someone who had done nothing to deserve it? Why had he fallen for Lillian of all girls?

"I told Ash too," Lillian said. She wasn't necessarily looking to hurt him, but looked defensive of her story, afraid he would use it against her.

"Yeah. I told Ash about my story too."

Lillian laughed at this. "Yes, of course you did. I did tell you my story. I trust you with it."

"…Yeah. Same here."

She smiled and reached around him for Poppy, her forearm brushing against his knee for a brief second. Cam clung to that fleeting warmth as she fidgeted with the stuffing on Poppy's foot. She seemed unaware of Poppy's mortality.

"I moved here with Howard after my sister died. She died in a car accident. My parents were having a hard time, so Howard took me in because he was a family friend. That's it."

Lillian looked at him, and he felt her shock. He felt it as his own. He had said it. He had actually told her. He had never thought he would be capable of such a feat. Confiding in Lillian. Even if he did undermine it all with his lack of expression.

"I'm sorry," Lillian said. Her voice was soft and full of sympathy. She looked at him and met his eyes until he had to look away.

"It was a long time ago," he said.

"Have you…seen them since?"

"…Not really. We don't get along well. I go to the city every Monday, but I haven't visited with them since I left. They send presents and cards every once in a while, though."

Lillian nodded. "Oh." She hesitated and then held out Poppy to him.

"Huh?"

"Poppy always makes me feel better."

Cam took the stuffed rabbit and laughed a little. Lillian wasn't very good at comforting people, but he liked this slightly childish side of her. He set Poppy in his lap and lifted its drooping string to make a full smile. It looked much better on him. The smile that came onto Lillian's face after that gesture looked much better on her too.

"You want to tell me about her?" Lillian asked.

"Hmm…she would have been a florist. We used to take drives to look at flowers with her, but thrifts were her favorite. Sea thrifts. Mostly just because she liked the ocean. She was two years older than me. I probably wouldn't have been a florist if she had become one."

Lillian smiled. "So you decided to become a florist because of her. I'm sure she'd be happy to know that."

The corner of Cam's mouth twitched into a smile for only a second. "Maybe."

"What was her name?"

"Camilla. My parents weren't the best with names."

"I think it's cute. Cam and Camilla."

"…You have any brothers or sisters?"

"One brother, named Phillip." Lillian thought about him for a moment and then shrugged. "We're not the closest, but he's a good guy. He stuck around in the city. He's a year older than me."

Cam wanted to hear all about Phillip. He wanted to hear about him because hearing about him meant not talking about Camilla. He had not cried over his sister's death in a good five years, but he suddenly felt very much like crying. Perhaps it was the gentle, sympathetic way Lillian encouraged him rather than the biting, gruff treatment he usually received from her. Then again, that could be that they had grown closer. He hated not being sure. "Have you talked to him since you moved here?"

"He doesn't know I live here," Lillian said.

Cam's eyes widened. "What? How do you hide that?"

"Well, they sort of know. I started selling all of my things, so my family got suspicious and questioned what was going on, but I told them I was just moving in with a friend. So that was how I hid this. I don't want to tell them what I'm doing until I know whether or not they can be proud of me."

Cam lifted Poppy's paw and patted Lillian's knee. "I think they would be proud of you."

Lillian patted Poppy's paw back. "I hope so."

"I'd better get going," Cam said, putting Poppy in Lillian's lap and getting to his feet. The empty bowls and forks rattled as he moved. Lillian followed him, but much more quietly, and returned Poppy to his place at her pillow as she walked behind him to the door.

"Thanks for breakfast," Cam said. His hand rested on the door frame, reluctant to leave, eager to leave.

"Thanks for coming."

"I'll see you-"

"Later. I'll come by to see you later, alright?"

Cam felt his cheeks color. "Er, okay. Sure. If you want to."

Lillian looked away for a moment and then put her hand over the hand that was on her door frame. "Thanks for talking to me, Cam."

His cheeks burned. "Uh…you too. Thanks for talking to me too."

She lifted her hand and waved at him, hurriedly closing the door. The slam echoed in his ears. He walked slowly along the pathway she had built towards the exit. The chickens scrambled towards him as he passed, and the horse she had come crashing in on trotted around him. It was so clean, Georgia would be envious.

Ash was standing at the exit. They looked at each other for a moment and then Ash said, "I'm impressed."

"I-"

"Good for you. You told her, right? That's great."

"Ash."

His friend was not wearing his familiar smile, and the absence of it stung. Cam did not want to see Ash with such a sour look on his face, but there was no way he could fix it. Ash turned and began to walk away, and Cam fell into step with him. "I went horseback riding with Georgia today," Ash said, mostly so Cam could not talk.

"How was it?"

"The same as always, only she tried to kiss me at the end of it."

"Oh."

"But I didn't kiss her. Unfortunately, Lillian did not see that. She only saw me encouraging Georgia's feelings for me, not discouraging them. Is that why she doesn't like me?"

He turned a desperate, frustrated face to his friend, but Cam did not have an answer for him – not one that he was eager to share. "I…I dunno," he said. "It's not like she dislikes you, or anything."

"Tell me the truth."

"…Lillian had her heart broken before. Would you be surprised if she was a little angry at you for supposedly doing the same thing to Georgia?"

Ash shook his head. "No. I would not be surprised."

"When did you put up that wallpaper with Lillian?"

"Last week. Gardenias, right? That's what she said."

"Yeah."

"What do gardenias represent?"

"…Secret love."

Ash laughed. "Of course they do. Of course. I'm going to go talk to Georgia. Talking to you is depressing."

Cam hesitated. "I…I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt you."

"I know." Ash didn't turn around and look at Cam, but he stood very still. "I'm not mad at your telling her. I'm proud of you. But I need to go before my pettiness becomes bigger than that feeling of happiness. I won't take my feelings out on you, Cam. So…I'll see you later, alright? You know where to find me."

Ash began walking away, and Cam watched him. "Thanks," he said when he was almost out of earshot. "Really. Thank you."

Ash just nodded and kept going.

* * *

Georgia met Cam several hours later, arriving for her newest bouquet. "Make me something random today!" she said. "I just want anything."

She was pouting. Her brows were furrowed in frustration and her voice came out sharp. Cam set to work with a bouquet that was aimed towards looking good rather than meaning something. Georgia hated when he tried to include complex meanings in flower arrangements. "They're _flowers_," she said. "They're not here to talk about your feelings. You should be the one talking about your feelings. Goddess, Cam. What are we going to do with you?"

She snatched the bouquet out of his hands before he got a chance to tie it, so the blooms became messy and unsightly in her grip. She pounded a few coins onto his table. "Did you know Ash has a crush on Lillian?" she demanded.

Cam's eyes widened. "Huh? Who…told you that?"

"Cheryl."

"Well, Cheryl is just a little kid. How would she know who her brother has a crush on?"

"She said their mom teases him about it all the time!"

"Well, Jessica is just an older person. How would she know who her son has a crush on? She's just going off of who she sees him with, and she's seen him with you so long she doesn't think to assume you're a thing."

Georgia frowned and folded her arms. "Ash _has _been spending a lot of time with Lillian lately. He helped her put up wallpaper the other day. And Lillian asks a lot of questions about him. I told Lillian all about how much I like Ash, and she still…she always seemed too interested in him. She was always asking such pointless questions, and I was always just so happy to answer them…"

"She does not," Cam said. "She _does not_ have a crush on Ash. So drop it. Leave her out of this. It's not her fault if Ash does or doesn't like her."

"Just because you like her doesn't mean she likes you back, Cam," Georgia sighed. She could be cruel when she was already upset. Georgia was the life of the party, fun and happy and upbeat, until something bad happened. The change was swift and the second persona unforgiving. She punished anyone who stood in the way of her happiness. Cam, unfortunately, was that person today. "Just because you like her doesn't mean she doesn't like Ash."

"I don't like Ash."

Georgia spun to look at Lillian in surprise, and Cam felt his humiliation blossom and spread like fire through his body. Every pump of his heart churned the burning blood through him. He refused to look at Lillian, but Georgia could not look anywhere else.

"I…uh…"

"I don't. He's a good friend, but I only asked questions about him because I knew you liked him and would want to talk about him. I know what it's like when you want to talk about something but you think the other person doesn't want to hear it. So I tried to keep the conversation going about Ash. I won't do that again if it makes you uncomfortable."

Georgia stared at Lillian for a very long time, holding the flowers so tightly in her crushed fist the stems were beginning to crack and the flowers were drooping. Cam wished he had given her the already wilting blooms. "Does he like you?" Georgia asked.

"How would I know?" Lillian countered. Her voice was suddenly firm and dark. Cam had heard her angry, but this was different. He had never seen her so vicious. "That's something you should take up with him, and not with Cam."

Georgia threw the flowers away and stalked off. Cam didn't mind too much, considering she had paid for them anyways. He turned to Lillian and looked hastily away, as though she could now read his feelings just from looking at him.

"Hmm. I put Ash in a bit of a predicament now," Lillian mused. "I didn't want to, but I didn't want her to keep barking at you for some sort of answer. Just forget what she said, everyone lashes out when they're backed into a corner."

She had given him an out so readily. Cam partly wished she hadn't. "Right," he said. "Thanks." Couldn't she have considered the verity of Georgia's words before dismissing them?

"You're welcome," she said. "I can be your knight in shining armor. Make me a new bouquet to put by my bed, please."

Cam set to work, but this time he tried to slip in as much meaning as he could. "I don't need a knight in shining armor," he said as he pulled all the flowers that stood for strong feelings from the array of fresh blooms. If she knew the meaning of flowers, then she…he shook his head. He was still scared. He pulled several yellow roses and spread them about. Friendship. Of course.

"Say what you will, but it sure seemed like you needed one just now." Lillian's voice was teasing, and she laughed when he looked at her. "You don't stand up for yourself even against your friends. You only stand up when it's _for _your friends. That's pretty admirable."

"I…thanks." Cam held out the bouquet and took the money she offered.

"I didn't like you much when we first met," Lillian admitted. "I was worried about you. You always seemed so suspicious. But…you're a good guy, Cam."

The fire churned through his system again. "I'm…glad to hear you say that."

Lillian smiled at him and held the bouquet up to her eyes. A sprig of tiny purple flowers was brushing against her cheek. "Same color," she said. "Was that on purpose?"

"…Yeah."

Lillian continued to smile. "Thank you. It looks good. I'd better go. I don't want to be caught by Georgia or Ash right after their anger builds up. I'll go to Konohana and wait until they cool off."

"Sounds good," Cam said.

"Good luck with her," Lillian said. She was grinning, though, an affectionate glint in her eyes. "Georgia is a pretty admirable person too. She doesn't subdue any of her emotions. Of course, that means her anger is devastating…but her happiness is elating, too."

She didn't say goodbye, but walked away on this note. Cam watched her leave for a moment and then looked into the trash can at the discarded flowers. He was always so quick to ignore Georgia's eccentricities, but…perhaps Lillian was right. Georgia felt everything stronger than other people. That meant she was angrier and sadder than most, but also happier and funnier and sweeter in many ways. He reached into the trash can and then turned to the fresh flowers instead, gathering flowers as red as her hair.

* * *

"Go away!"

"It's me."

"…Cam?"

Georgia opened the door, her crimson hair a mess and her face full of tears. She had pulled on a heavy sweater Cam recognized as Ash's from long ago, and he wondered how she had managed to acquire it for herself.

"What happened?" he asked.

Georgia led him inside, and he sat down on the edge of her bed, wondering what Grady was doing during this mess. He knew him well enough to predict that he was hiding out somewhere in the stables or seeking Howard's advice on how to manage a teenage girl- not that Howard had any good advice. Laney had never spoken back, never misbehaved, never done anything outside the lines of perfection as a daughter, so Howard didn't really know enough to give advice. Of course, that didn't stop him, and Cam knew if Grady had sought Howard's help he would return with cake and expect that to make everything better.

Cam already had a good idea of what had happened, but he tried not to jump to any conclusions. After all, _anything _could have happened. But that was a futile hope.

"Ash told me that he would never have feelings for me," Georgia sobbed, her hands over her eyes. "He said that he likes Lillian even though she doesn't like him."

"Why did he tell you that?" Cam asked. He couldn't imagine any situation in which Ash could have thought it was a good idea to confess his feelings for another girl to someone who had been one-sidedly in love with him for a majority of her life.

Georgia sniffed and said, "I asked him to tell me why he didn't like me."

"…Oh."

She sniffed once more and then let loose a miserable, choked sob. "Don't tell Lillian about this," she pleaded. "I don't want to blame her for this. I just want to pretend it didn't happen and let it go away. But…I don't know how I'm going to face Ash ever again…"

Georgia buried her face in her pillow, and Cam watched her with a grimace. He hesitated and then held out the flowers he had been holding. It took her a moment to realize what he was doing, and then she looked at him with surprise, eyes wide.

"Here," he said. "These are for you."

Georgia took the bouquet, one of the best Cam had ever made, and studied it for a long time. "You…made this for me…even after how I treated you earlier?"

Cam looked away, feeling embarrassed. "I…realized that I haven't been trying to understand you all this time. But…now that I have…well…I'm rooting for you too, Georgia."

She looked at him, stunned. "You're _what_?"

"Not necessarily with Ash!" he amended himself quickly, shaking his head. "But…with anyone. I'd like to see you find someone who returns your feelings as strongly as you feel for Ash…so you can be happy."

Georgia was very quiet for a long time, staring determinedly at the flowers. Finally she smiled at Cam, a soft laugh escaping her. "Thanks, Cam. Really. I never thought you would be the one to comfort me after all this."

"Well, people change," he mumbled, avoiding her eyes. Georgia had the potential to see right through to the subject of his change.

She did. "I guess certain farmers are causing changes in everyone. Even me. I'll be rooting for you too, Cam."

"…Hmm. Whatever you say."

She smiled and rose to her feet, gently patting his head. "I'll see you in a couple days, when I need to get my next bouquet, alright?"

He got up as well and hesitated before pulling her into a brief, awkward hug. "Yeah, sure. I'll see you then."

Georgia watched him go and then leaned against the door after he walked out, tears streaking down her face. Cam watched her from the window before turning away. He could do no more to help her. She'd have to manage the rest herself.

* * *

"What's up?"

"…Not much."

"Want to do something?"

Ash looked at Lillian with a blank expression. "…What?"

"We can go look at the mountains, or we can go spend time with Cam or Laney, or we can go fishing, or something. How about it?"

Ash sighed. "You heard about what happened with me and Georgia, didn't you? Who told you?"

"…Georgia did."

Ash put his face in his hands in humiliation. "I thought she wasn't going to tell you. She made such a big deal about how she didn't want you to know."

Lillian was perched on the lowest level of his fence, balancing carefully. She leaned towards him and away, towards him and away. "I managed to get it out of her. I can be very convincing when I want to be."

Ash laughed a little, but shook his head. "Why are you doing this?"

"…Doing what?"

"Trying to comfort me. Cam told me a bit about your argument the other night when he was still half-asleep. I know that you were pretty frustrated with the way I was treating Georgia. So…you don't have to come here and act like you're okay with it. I-"

Lillian interrupted him, pulling him into a hug. "It hurts to hurt other people, Ash. I know that. Cam was right when he told me not to blame you. I had never tried to understand you…to understand _my_ ex boyfriend. But I can see it now. Sometimes you fall out of love or sometimes you never do fall in love with someone no matter how much they love you. And it hurts, to know that all you have to do to make someone happy is love them, but you _can't _do that. I'm sorry I didn't realize that before. I'm sorry I have to hurt you."

Ash's eyes hung wide, soaking in everything that was happening. He hesitantly lifted his hands and put them on her back. "Don't comfort me," he said softly, his voice teasing. "It's only going to hurt me more."

"I know," Lillian murmured, her voice miserable. "But you deserve to be comforted."

He wrapped his arms tighter around her and said, "I never wanted to hurt Georgia. I see her as a sister – she's my best friend ever. I love her so much. But I'm not _in _love with her…I tried, Lillian…I really tried…but I can't-"

"I know," she repeated gently. "I know."

A tear slid down Ash's cheek, and he let himself grieve the loss of a friendship that could never again be the same, and he grieved a relationship he was tasting that would never happen.

* * *

Cam stood in the city, surrounded with skyscrapers and noise and more people than Bluebell and Konohana combined and multiplied by ten had. Thousands of people, only there for seconds at a time before they moved on. He walked slowly through the crowd, paying little notice to any of them. He had long stopped being uncomfortable in the city since he had begun to make his weekly trips four years ago. Now it was just white noise to be filtered in and out.

His feet carried him down the familiar path, covered with signs – signs warning of constructions, signs against littering, signs of city life slowly fading away. This part of town was empty. Nobody wanted to be here.

Cam continued walking, past the granite slabs etched with words, past the badly chosen flowers. He was holding a bouquet of gardenias, for grace. When she was laid in her casket, Camilla's hands were placed on her chest, and Cam had thought that he would never see something more graceful. Mostly it was Lillian's wallpaper that inspired him to put together a gardenia bouquet this time, however. He wanted to convey his feelings for her to his sister, and see what she had to think about it.

He knelt down before her grave and gently placed the flowers atop it. Camilla would have liked Lillian, he thought. She liked people who were a little more multifaceted than the average Joe. Perhaps she would have grown up to be a little bit like Lillian too. But Cam wasn't sure. That was the worst part about someone dying – you never got a chance to know what they would become.

So he would just have to do his best to become someone for the both of them.


	7. Hyacinth

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own Harvest Moon or anything associated with it._

_**Author's Note**__: Hey everyone, sorry for this chapter's delay. Thanks for being so understanding about the wait! This chapter is a little shorter than most, but it seemed like I would just be tacking things on if I tried to make it any longer haha. This length felt right, and I'm pretty satisfied with this chapter! I hope you all like it too. (:_

* * *

_During early migration periods the daffodil was believed to be necessary to the homestead._

* * *

"The battle lines have been drawn," Laney said, peeking out the window, the lilac curtains bundled up in her fist. "They're having lunch together again today, next to the monument. Looks like sandwiches."

Georgia leaned around her to look out too. "And I thought for sure Lillian would feel bad for _me_…"

Cam hesitated and then looked out the window with them, towards the place Ash and Lillian were having lunch at. They were laughing at something, but sitting very platonically against the monument's rusted, cool metal. A napkin was spread across each of their laps, and there was half a sandwich in each of their hands. He had to agree – he hadn't expected Lillian to show so much sympathy towards Ash after all the of the methods she had taken to ensure Georgia wouldn't be heartbroken by him.

"We have lost Lillian to the enemy," Laney said. "Oh well."

Georgia sniffed. "I really liked Lillian, too."

"What happened to wanting to act like nothing had happened? Wanting to make sure Lillian didn't find out about what happened so you could stay friends with her?" Cam folded his arms, playing the voice of reason role before the two glum-faced girls.

Georgia and Laney exchanged a look. The redhead sighed and said, "Well, it's easy to say that and all, but facing Ash is a whole other issue. It's not like I dislike Lillian, but…she knows I was suspicious of what was going on between the two of them, and then she goes and starts spending all of her time with him…it makes me feel like she really did seek to hurt me."

Laney nodded along with her, but Cam didn't pay much attention. She seemed too eager to seize this opportunity to point out Lillian's flaws. He couldn't be certain why the girls hated each other so much, but they obviously did. He hoped against all hopes that Lillian's question of whether or not he and Laney were an item meant _that _was the source of the dislike, but he could never be certain when it came to Lillian.

"She probably just feels bad for him since that he's been alienated by everyone." Cam was reluctant to allow Lillian to be dragged down with Ash's latest drama, and was hopeful that Laney and Georgia would be able to move past this. He understood Georgia's issue, but he felt that Laney was just being overprotective, and that over-protectiveness was maximized by her animosity with Lillian. Ash was her friend too, just like he was Cam's.

Laney shook her head. "You don't know that for sure."

He sighed and turned towards the door, his slow pace giving the girls plenty of time to protest. They didn't. He marched out the door and headed towards the monument, shooting a pointed look towards the window. Maybe he would draw some battle lines of his own.

"Hey," said Lillian. She tore her sandwich half into half again and offered part of it up to him. "Want to have lunch with us?"

"We're staging a protest," Ash added.

"Huh," said Cam. He took the sandwich quarter and sat down beside Lillian, his head barely reaching up towards the cow that sat at the center and lowest point of the monument. "You can see them spying on you from here?"

"Yeah. Today and the two days before it. You were spying on us too," Ash pointed out. His face was a little gloating, but mostly relieved to have Cam at his side.

Cam smiled and shrugged. "I was doing reconnaissance."

"Liar," Lillian replied. She took a bite of her sandwich and then laughed. "Reconnaissance. Even you can joke sometimes, then."

"It's been known to happen every once in a while," Ash told her.

Lillian nodded, a grave expression on her face. "It must mean that battle is going poorly. His humor is a defense mechanism."

"I'm guessing you heard Laney and Georgia too, since you guys are talking about this 'battle?'"

Ash and Lillian nodded together, but it was the boy who replied. "We overheard them when they were at the request board the day after what happened with me and Georgia. I've tried to talk to her, but she won't have it, and Laney is like her guardian right now. It's impossible to get through to her. And I always thought Laney was sweet through and through. Even she has a mean streak."

"It is her best friend," Lillian said, and Cam was impressed that she was sticking up for Laney so much when Laney was up there spying on her through the window. He looked again and saw both girls hurriedly move away, and he narrowed his eyes. His sympathy for both parties was being dragged away by the minute.

"I can distract Laney so you can talk to Georgia. She's acting pretty immaturely at this point," Cam muttered.

"I need to talk to Georgia first and clear things up," Lillian said before Ash could answer. "The only reason she's so angry at us right now is because she thinks I lied to her that day…when she was buying flowers from you, I mean." Ash looked confused, but Cam nodded – the day Georgia had attempted to interrogate him about Lillian and Ash's relationship only to have Lillian herself clear it up. Saying you didn't like someone and then spending so much time with them _could _be taken the wrong way. "So if I explain to her that I meant what I said then…well, it'll make it a little easier to move on."

Cam nodded, and so did Ash. "Sounds good," the latter said. "How are you going to distract Laney, Cam?"

"I dunno. Ask her to bake a cake or something."

Ash and Lillian burst out laughing, which caught Cam off guard. He rarely got to see Lillian laugh, but it seemed she was always laughing with Ash. Still, she was laughing at _his _words. "It is a dire situation," Ash echoed. "Cam's made two jokes now."

"Stay strong, soldiers," Lillian said. She took another bite of her sandwich – the final bite – and swallowed. Ash and Cam saluted her, and they set off laughing again. Every serious situation needed a little bit of laughter to go into, and heartbreak definitely warranted a serious situation.

* * *

"Laney is doing her best to make this into some sort of game to cheer up Georgia," Cam murmured to Lillian, who was nodding beside him in front of Howard's and shifting her weight from foot to foot due to her heavy rucksack. "Hey…you want me to carry that?"

"It's fine. I have to carry it all the time, anyways."

"You could set it down or something."

"I'm building muscle."

Cam smiled. "Okay."

"So that's where she got all of this battle talk…I think I can understand," Lillian nodded, tapping a finger against the strap of her rucksack. It seemed to replace her old habit of unbuttoning and rebuttoning that second vest button. He wondered when she would change her outfit again. This work one still didn't do her any justice. "If it keeps Georgia's mind off of the gravity of this whole thing…well, she's just had her dreams crushed. Making things fun is the best way to handle that. Are you sure Georgia is ready to talk to me and Ash?"

Cam hesitated and then shrugged. "I really don't know with Georgia. It might get worse if you two _don't_try to talk to her. Right now she thinks you were using her to get closer to Ash, or something, or that you at least didn't care about her feelings for him. So maybe if she gets that thought out of her head, she'll feel better. She's pretty unpredictable, though."

Lillian smiled at him, and he smiled back at her before she even replied simply because she was smiling and it was lovely. "You know a lot about all of your friends."

"Well, I've lived here with them all for a long time. I was bound to pick up some things."

Lillian laughed a little and nodded. "Of course. You go ahead and try to talk to Laney now, since she's working, and I'll head over to Georgia's house while she's distracted and try to explain things to her."

It was admittedly a simple plan, but Cam had no doubt that if Laney caught sight of Lillian, she would rush to Georgia's aid in fear that her friend would be wounded. "Alright. Head over there now, and I'll go talk to her. Meet me here when you're finished, alright?"

Lillian raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Why do I have to meet back with you?"

"Uh…so…reconnaissance?"

She laughed again and nodded. "Right. Of course. I'll meet you back here as soon as I can."

She headed off and Cam hurried in, seeing that Laney's gaze was already trained on the window. She looked at him fleetingly and smiled. "Hello, Cam," she said. "What's going on? I thought you were spending the day with them."  
_  
Them_, like it was a dirty word. Cam felt a little dirty when she glared at him so. "Could you make me something?" he asked. "A…strawberry shortcake."

Strawberry shortcakes were Laney's favorite. Her eyes didn't leave him for the window, so he knew he had started off strong. "Well, sure," she said. "But why do you want a strawberry shortcake? I don't think anyone's birthday is coming up…unless it's _hers_, she's the only one whose birthday I don't know…"

Cam floundered at this. He didn't know when Lillian's birthday was either. "No. It's not for Lillian's birthday. But it's…a gift…for someone."

"Who?"

"Uh…Cheryl?"

"Why?"

Laney was pretty good at these mini interrogations. Cam hesitated and then said, "I…owe her."

"Oh." Laney didn't look like she believed him very much, but settled on a smile. "Well, sure, Cam. I'll make it for you. Do you, er, want to help me with it?"

She turned a bright smile to him and rinsed her hands off, wiping them dry on a peach towel hanging around the oven's handle. Cam wasn't sure why, but something in her seemed a little off all of a sudden. At least it was _different_. "Sure," he replied. He stood beside her, blocking the view of the window, and said, "What do I do first?"

Laney bustled around the kitchen for twenty minutes gathering things up, sprawling them out onto the counter. Cam was not much of a cook and wasn't sure what half of it was, but nodded intently as she rattled off their names and uses to him. Those words flew straight form his head moments after she spoke. When she had finally gathered everything she needed, she set to the basic steps – breaking eggs, measuring liquids, sifting through flour. Cam didn't bother keeping track of the order, precision, or method. Laney's strawberry shortcake was impossible to mimic, anyways. Many had tried and consequently failed. He didn't want to bother with that.

"Here, stir," she told him, pointing to the wooden spoon thrust into a bowl of what seemed to be mush. Cam looked from her to the bowl and back.

"Sorry?"

"Mix it all together! It's an important step, and you should do something, or else Cheryl won't think you really made it!"

"…Right," Cam nodded. He put his hand on the spoon and slowly, _slowly _began to move it through the thick mix around the width of the bowl.

Laney laughed, shaking her head. "Honestly, Cam."

She put her hand over his and forced him to stir more rapidly, and much to his amazement the mixture came together fairly well. He had made a few other desserts with her – with her guiding him every step of the way – but he had thought her prized strawberry shortcake was impossible. He grinned at the creation he was making, but his grin faltered at the sound of the bell.

"Sorry!" Lillian said instantly. She turned a bright, clearly faked smile towards the pair. "I didn't mean to interrupt you two cooking. Can you tell me where your father is, Laney?"

"It's fine," she said, removing her hand from Cam's and wiping the lingering flour dust on her apron. "He should be in the Town Hall."

"Great, thanks. See you two later," Lillian said, and she promptly walked back out the door. Cam was already walking towards it when the bell sang again as it slammed shut.

"Where are you going?" Laney asked. She wore a surprisingly disappointed expression.

"Can you finish up without me?" Cam asked her, feeling guilty when she looked at him like that. "I promised Lillian I'd meet up with her. I'll come back to help you finish up soon."

He didn't linger long enough to hear Laney's reply, and instead rushed through the door and towards Lillian's retreating form. She hadn't bothered keeping up appearances and going to find Howard, but was instead walking straight back to her farm. Cam pushed himself to walk faster and landed in step with her.

"What?" she said. "Go ahead and go finish your cake, it's fine."

"It was just to distract her."

"I know," she said. It didn't sound particularly convincing. "But you can go ahead and finish it. We didn't really have a reason to meet up anyways."

Cam didn't let her shake him off that easily. "How did it go with Georgia?" he asked, continuing to follow her towards her farm.

"It didn't go so good. She didn't really believe me. She said that Laney told her that she saw me talking to Ash the other day and…nothing I said could get rid of that image…"

Cam stopped. "What image?"

"I was just comforting him."

"Why is she so upset about it, then?"

"We hugged," Lillian sighed. Cam felt annoyed at her statement and the matter-of-fact way she said it. "That's it. But to her it seems to be some huge deal. I understand, I mean, she told me she liked him, I knew he broke her heart, but I still felt bad for him and went to him after she told me what happened."

"_She _told you what happened?"

Lillian looked a little embarrassed now. "Well, I convinced her too because I wanted to know what was going on. I told her that she could tell me anything, and she did…and I saw you and Laney comforting her, and I wanted Ash to know that just because he had hurt Georgia didn't mean he was a bad person."

"You were the one who-"

"I know!" Lillian snapped. Cam was shocked by it. "I know what I said! I know what I said about Ash wasn't very fair, but you're the one who convinced me to think otherwise, alright Cam? Georgia is going through a hard time right now, and I have a lot of sympathy for her, but that doesn't mean Ash deserves to be completely alienated. Even you haven't been spending very much time with him recently!"

Cam hated this accusation, so he flung one of his own towards her. "At least I didn't help in messing up their friendship."

"You think this is _my _fault?"

"It's because you made Georgia think you were all for her and Ash and then the moment things fell through started spending all that time with Ash! What would you think if you were in her place?"

"Don't put all of this on me!" Lillian glared up at Cam, her eyes fierce. He knew his words were foolish as he said them, and he was already repenting for them. "This was happening long before I came. I tried to help Georgia, but I couldn't. I did my best to try and prevent her from getting her heart broken. But Ash is hurting too and I didn't think it was fair. Maybe I said otherwise before, but I've changed my point of view."

"I-"

"But if you want to blame someone, go ahead and blame me." Lillian turned away from him so quickly her copper hair whipped his cheeks. It looked beautiful in the sunset. It was already getting farther from him. Farther by the minute. She was both angry and sad, and that sadness at being snapped at by Cam seeped out of her every action - every footstep, every swing of her arm, every flick of her hair. Cam considered going after her, but veered in a different direction.

* * *

"What's wrong?" Ash asked, frowning when he opened the door. "You look like you're in a bad mood."

"I am in a bad mood."

Ash sighed and pushed his door open a little further. "What happened? Did Georgia not forgive Lillian?"

"No, she didn't, but that's not why I'm upset." Cam sat down in his usual spot on the couch, still fuming enough to actually vent to Ash the same way his friend had done hundreds of times before. Ash noticed this change and said, "Oh, it's Lillian then," as he sat next to him.

Cam shrugged.

"What happened? You two fight or something?"

"…Yeah, I guess. I had no reason to argue with her, but I was…angry at what she said to me."

"What exactly happened?" Ash said. "I'm kind of confused."

Cam hesitated and then lapsed into an explanation of the harsh words they had exchanged and how she had stalked off from him. He left out the aching guilt he felt the moment his words left his mouth and how beautiful she looked as she walked away.

Ash shook his head. "Well, it's your fault for getting so upset. She was just calling it like she saw it."

"I wasn't avoiding you or anything," Cam muttered. "I hadn't picked a side, and if I had, I would have picked yours. I just…got frustrated when she said that. I didn't want to think that...I don't know..."

Ash was smiling, but probably at Lillian's defense at him. At least Cam hoped he wasn't smiling at his predicament. "I don't think you were avoiding me either. But that's how Lillian saw it. C'mon, Cam. This whole situation is all about putting yourself in the shoes of the other person. Put yourself in Lillian's shoes for a little bit. She sees everyone avoiding me and pitying Georgia. She recently had to turn down someone too, you know. She knows what it's like to have to shoot someone down in such a hopeful position, after all. I think she could sympathize with me."

Cam looked away. He had partially forgotten about that, despite how difficult it was to forget. "Yeah," he muttered. "I guess that makes sense. I knew it wasn't her fault the whole time, but still..."

Ash shrugged. "She was probably just annoyed because you were with Laney when you said you would meet up with her."

"What?"

Ash rolled his eyes at the shock on Cam's face. "Well, she obviously had some sort of suspicion that you two were going out, and wasn't a huge fan of the suggestion. Walking in on you spending time with Laney when you told her to meet you…it must have looked like you had forgotten all about her in lieu of hanging out with Laney."

"I…I didn't. I was just…caught up in cooking."

"Hmm." Ash folded his arms. "I see."

"I wouldn't have forgotten about Lillian so easily!" Cam felt suddenly very defensive of this – more defensive than he had been of Ash, and much more sure of the verity of his words as well. "I could never have forgotten about her."

Ash sighed. "You're depressing me. Just go and apologize to her already. I have something to take care of as well."

"You're going to go talk to Georgia?"

"Yeah."

"But-"

"I have an issue first and foremost with Georgia. Had her and Lillian kissed and made up, it would have made my apology a lot easier, but Georgia is my friend, and I'm not willing to give that up. So I'm going to go explain things myself and hope that she can begin forgiving me for putting her through so much all these years." Ash pushed himself to his feet and said, "Go tell Lillian you're sorry. You don't know her well enough to know if she's the type to hold grudges, after all."

Cam took the hand Ash offered him and allowed himself to be towed to a standing position. "Yeah, I guess. I don't really know all that much about her."

"I think you know more about her than you think you do." Ash laughed and shook his head. "Get over this hang up of getting to know everything about her. She's the person you're friends with. You know her."

"Friends, huh?" Cam was quiet for a moment and then smiled. "Yeah. Let's go."

* * *

"Hyacinths," Lillian said two hours later.

Cam didn't lower his bouquet of purple blooms. This time, the color was not chosen to match the color of her eyes. He nodded.

She smiled and took them. "You can't just say you're sorry yourself, huh?"

"I'm sorry," he said. He felt ashamed when she looked at him like that, and knew that his cheeks were red.

Lillian moved into her house and left the door open, so Cam followed and watched her remove the last wilting bouquet he had given her and replace it with this new one. "It's okay. I was going to apologize to you too, Cam."

"…Why?"

"I shouldn't have said what I did." She turned and faced him, looking as ashamed as he felt. He was enormously relieved that those two hours he spent fetching the hyacinths he had planted in the mountains had given her anger time to cool as well. "What happened was nobody's fault. No part of it. Everyone was just trying to do what they thought was right. So there's really no reason for us to argue about it."

She sat down on the edge of her bed, and Cam sat down next to her. "I'm sorry I wasn't waiting outside for you when you came," he forced himself to say. "It wasn't like…I wanted to spend extra time with Laney, or anything like that. I was just surprised I was able to make strawberry shortcake as good as her."

"I think it was still her, considering it was her hand over yours," Lillian pointed out. She laughed and picked up the wilting bouquet, disassembling it. She looked eager to jump to a new topic. "I've been wanting to try to put together a bouquet for myself. Then I can open up another stand and rival yours."

Cam watched silently as she began to seize different individual flowers and attempt to match them up, and then he reached his hands out around her waist, taking a hold of each of hers from behind and guiding her towards the correct flowers. He expected her to shake him free or tell him to let go, but she did not. She was very still, but allowed him to move her hands, and her nimble fingers wove together the flowers he selected until he released her to tie a ribbon around it.

Her cheeks were a little flushed when she turned towards him. "See?" she said. "This is technically a bouquet that you made. I didn't really have any particular say in it."

Cam smiled at her and said, "I guess not. I can teach you how to make flower arrangements if you want."

"You shouldn't help your rival," she murmured. She wasn't look at him directly in the eyes, instead gazing at his fidgeting fingers on his lap.

"Lillian, I…"

She looked hesitantly up towards him, and he blushed under her gaze and shook his head. "Never mind. It's fine. I'll teach you even if it ends up ending my business. Not that you need two of your own businesses."

For just one very brief instant, Cam thought that Lillian looked a little disappointed. He felt disappointed in himself. He had been fully prepared to say it, and had changed his mind at the last second. But still…with all this mess of other people's feelings surrounding him…it wasn't time yet for him to voice his own. But that didn't mean that in the meantime he couldn't teach her how to do flower arrangements.


	8. Viscaria

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own Harvest Moon or anything associated with it._

_**Author's Note**__: Hey everyone, I hope your Halloween was good~ I want to apologize for the lateness of this update, it's ridiculous how much time its taken. I've been really caught up with a lot of midterms, writing assignments and speeches all at once, so I haven't had time to write. -_- On the plus side, I've gotten A's on all of my midterms so far and I got an A on my first short story in beginning fiction class? Hahaha, I hope that warms the hearts of all of those annoyed at my lateness. :P I want to thank everyone for the nice reviews and all the other stats such as actual reading, following, favoriting, and etc, and I want to remind you all that even if my updates come a bit slow (especially for this story – sorry guys!), you can always PM me with any questions, comments, concerns or requests and I will get back to you asap. Now for a couple of notes about this chapter – a character who technically doesn't show up until later in the game is present in this chapter, but I hope you'll all forgive that shift in the typical gameplay. This chapter is one of the longest I've done in a while! A lot happens in this one haha. I have to say I've been a bit influenced by the anime Sukitte Ii Na Yo when writing this - it's such a mature feeling story despite the young age of the characters, and I am consistently impressed with that maturity, and I really love incorporating it into this story's versions of Cam and Lillian. I like to write a lot of very young-feeling stories, so writing this one is a big change, but it's also a lot of fun. I hope you enjoy it. As for what comes once this story (and eventually The City, whose update I'll be working on next) finishes, I have a poll running right now on my profile for you all to choose - I'm a little unfamiliar with how polls work, so let me know if I need to fix anything. So give a vote if you have a particular pairing I'm considering that you really want to see! Anyways, thanks for checking out this chapter guys, I hope you enjoy it!_

* * *

_Daffodils bloom earlier than most bulbs._

* * *

Cam awoke the next morning with the same sense of lightness and anticipation bunched up in his stomach, rung out continuously like a wet rag. He could still feel Lillian's hands in his as he guided her towards the correct flowers. They had agreed to meet up that afternoon for her first lesson in putting together floral arrangements. He hadn't expected her to take this seriously, but who was he to pass up on such an opportunity?

He dressed hurriedly, noting that his stand needed to be opened in only a few minutes, and then moved into the kitchen, opening the fridge and seizing a pitcher of orange juice without even looking around. Only when his juice was poured and half-gone did he turn to greet Howard and Laney – but he found it was just Laney, and she was glaring at him.

"What is it?" he asked, taking another drink. "Where's your dad?"

"Where were _you_?" Laney said. Her arms were folded tight against her chest, and she wasn't wearing her apron. Cam wondered how long she had been standing there in the kitchen waiting for him to finally wake up, roll out of bed, and move into the kitchen. Had she been hoping he would stroll out and jump at the sight of her anger?

He looked at her for a moment longer and then said, "Sorry, what? I don't understand."

Laney looked ready to cry, which was how you knew she was particularly angry. Laney was good at being angry in Georgia's defense, but not so good at being angry in her own defense. Where her fingertips dug into her arms, the skin paled. "_You_ asked _me_ to help you make a strawberry shortcake because _you_ owed one to Cheryl. Then you took off after Lillian and didn't show up until long after I had to finish the cake. You didn't get back until I was already asleep! In fact, I have no idea _how _long you were out."

Cam decided that the immediate necessary action was to explain why he had been out so long, or else she looked like she would list off everything else she had accomplished while he was gone. "I'm sorry," he said. "I was at Lillian's for a while and then I went to see Ash again. I completely forgot, Laney. I'm sorry."

"You're _sorry_," Laney repeated. Her eyes were narrowed. "You're _sorry_." That was how Cam knew something else was bothering her.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I took the cake to Cheryl for you!" Laney said. "I took it this morning before you woke up. Cheryl said you didn't owe her anything, but she took it anyway. So why…why would you ask me to help you if you didn't even owe her anything? It obviously…it…" her words came out hesitantly and then fierce as she snapped, "Obviously you didn't want to spend time with _me_, so why did you make me waste my time?"

Cam was stumped. He couldn't recall the last time he had seen Laney in such a rage. Maybe she never had been. At least not since they were kids. "I'm…sorry," he said again. It seemed like the only thing that made sense to say.

It was not enough for Laney. She didn't bother lecturing him, and instead stormed through the front door, the bell tingling reluctantly in her absence. Cam looked around the shop and wondered if she would get in trouble later for leaving the desk. He considered shutting his flower stand for the day so he could take care of the shop for her and Howard. But in the end, he walked out to his own flower stand and did not help his childhood friend, because the stand was a chance to see Lillian, and he knew as he went that he could no longer scold Ash for his own selfish behaviors in the face of love.

* * *

"Guess what happened today?"

Lillian was leaning across his stand and – much to his glee – clothed in a brand new outfit. It was a blue skirt that had to be a hindrance to farming, along with a brown short sleeved jacket over a white blouse. Cam tried not to let his eyes linger anywhere besides the heart glued to her new, thin headband or her teal flats that buckled in the spot just behind her toes. "I like your outfit," he said.

"It's a casual outfit, but that's not the point."

"It's not what happened today?"

"It is what happened today, but it was the _second _thing that happened today."

"Well, I still like it. What does casual outfit mean?"

Lillian smiled and relaxed so that she was standing upright rather than falling over the stand. "That it's casual?" Cam made a face that she laughed at. She always seemed to enjoy teasing him. "Nori picks the names. She said you would like this outfit best, too."

"Huh?"

"She said Ash would like the last outfit I wore the best and that nobody would care much for my original outfit…though she might have said that because she was from Konohana and it's a Bluebell outfit. But still. If you don't like this outfit the best, I'm going and getting my money back."

Cam felt his cheeks heat up. "Oh…uh…"

"That was a joke. This outfit was expensive. I didn't buy it just for you. Selfish." She wore a teasing smile, but was fidgeting with excitement that could not be contained with that one simple smile she always gave him. Something good had _obviously _happened.

"What else happened besides this outfit, then?"

Lillian looked overjoyed that Cam had finally taken the hint that she didn't care nearly as much about her new clothes as she did about the first exciting thing that had happened. She slammed her hands down on his stand and said, "Georgia came and apologized to me! She said she had a talk with Ash last night and she doesn't want to blame me for something I wasn't involved in. So, Ash and I aren't 'the enemy' anymore. Isn't that great?"

It was in a sarcastic voice that she finished her statement, but it was clear that sarcasm did not dare do justice to the happiness Lillian was feeling. Her genuine smile had already taken over the smug expression she so often wore, and it became clear that her friendship with Georgia was not a petty one. "Great," Cam answered. "Have you talked to Ash about it at all?"

"I haven't gone to find him yet. I wanted to come tell you first," Lillian said. When the words had left her mouth she laughed and then brought her head down gently upon the top of the stand. "I'll be leaving now," she said, still laughing. "I'll…talk to you later, Cam."

Cam watched her go, utterly lost. "What?" he mumbled. "What was that about?"

"St_uuuu_pid," Ash said, leaning across the railing of the Inn towards his friend. "It means she has a thing for you. She was embarrassed that she said something so forward. Luckily for her you're too inept to pick up on it. Unfortunately for her, I've decided to pick up your slack."

Cam looked at Ash in surprise, helping his friend step over the railing and land safely behind the stand. "Why didn't you call out to Lillian? She's looking for you right now because you just _watched_ her."

"I'll go find her in a few minutes. How far can she get?" Ash made a face and then rolled his eyes. "The problem isn't me and Lillian right now, anyways. She got the outfit you like _and _she came to tell you before she told anyone else about her and Georgia making up. When are you going to tell her you like her?"

"She doesn't like me," Cam said, his voice firm. "Stop saying stuff like that."

Ash rolled his eyes once more for good measure. "You can keep saying that, but it doesn't mean anything. Plus she knows you're into her, so you can stop this."

"What?! How does she know that?" Cam dropped the flower he had been fiddling with and Ash caught it under his boot before he could pick it up.

"It's wilted already. Stop fidgeting," he said, his voice impatient. He ground the bud into the dirt, and Cam glared up at him.

"So what?"

"So nobody is going to buy a dead flower."

"That doesn't mean you should…"

"What, kill it? I'm afraid nature has already done that. Let things go."

"How does Lillian know I like her?" Cam said. He rose to his feet once more and faced his friend, who picked up the wilted and now also desecrated bloom and flung it into the forests' grasp. It nestled down somewhere between grass that was barely returning to the earth. "_You_ didn't…right?"

Ash looked at Cam for a moment, clearly unamused. "Yes, I – your best friend – decided to tell the girl you're into that you have feelings for her. It just seemed like a good idea. No, Cam, Georgia told her. So what are you going to do about it?"

"How does _Georgia_ know?"

"How does anyone in the world not know? Can we move past this whole business of knowing and not knowing? She knows, I know, you know – everyone knows. So let's talk about what we're going to be doing with our knowledge."

"My knowledge."

"You're stingy when you've got a girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend!" Cam felt his voice rise so much that he was lucky nobody was in Howard's shop to hear. "She turned you down because her heart is still broken from what happened to her before. She's not just going to fall over me out of nowhere."

Ash glared at him for a moment and then perched himself on the edge of the stand, feet trailing in the dirt. He wrote his name in large block letters and Cam watched, feeling that he had perhaps crossed a line in mentioning his friend's heartbreak. When he was ready to speak, his words were slow, deliberate, and clearly strung with pain. "She turned me down. Me. Not you. People fall for other people, no matter how hurt they were by someone else. It happens. And considering the way Lillian treats you and the way you two interact and how she acts about Laney and not to mention deciding to buy an outfit just because you like it and coming to tell you her good news before she tells anyone else – I think she likes you. So will you just put some faith in me for once, Cam?"  
"What if she only likes me as a friend?" Cam's voice came out small with this question, and he knew that Ash would understand that. After all – he had once been fairly certain that Lillian was interested in _Ash_ only for their relationship to come out as platonic.

Ash looked up at him and then shook his head. "Look, maybe this is something only a person from the outside looking in can see. Would you at least _try _talking to her?"

Cam shrugged, looking away. "Maybe later."

Ash sighed and got up from his seat on the stand, walking around it and squinting to see if Lillian was headed towards Konohana or her farm. "I'm going to go catch up with her and see what's going on," he said. "You just…do whatever then."

Cam knew that he had angered Ash, and that meant he had now upset _two _people in one day and not bothered to comfort either of them, but he couldn't help it. He put his head against the hands he had planted on his stand and took in a few shallow breaths of hot air. How was he supposed to tell Lillian his feelings? He had decided he would wait to voice his own. It had been a decision he had fully intended to stick to.

But were everyone else's feelings already coming together? He took a deep breath and thought of Georgia and Ash. She was willing to forgive Lillian, but had she forgiven Ash? He had forgotten to ask. What a terrible friend he was. He breathed out. What about Laney? He took a deep breath again. Did she have feelings for someone? Not that he knew of. He breathed out. Why was she treating him so strangely anyways? He breathed in, out, in, out. Did their feelings matter, compared to his feelings? Was he going to be selfish today, and prioritize his own affection?

He looked at Ash standing with Lillian and breathed in and out. It annoyed him so much to see the two of them together, he felt that he could run after them, seize Lillian, and confess on the spot. But he knew the moment he looked at her, the words would stick in his mouth.

* * *

"I heard things are going good with you and Georgia."

"You would hear such a thing, since you were eavesdropping on my conversation with Cam," Lillian said, turning a smirk to Ash when his eyes widened at her words. "You're not a good spy, Ash."

He looked at her for a moment with his surprise clearly evident, but then just laughed. "Figures. I should expect as much from you. Sorry I didn't rush right after you, but I wanted to have a brief chat with my dear friend before I came over here."

"Of course," Lillian said. She smiled at him, a little teasing, and said, "What did you two chat about, then?"

Ash smiled back at her, leaning against the shipping bin as they lingered in the alcove's shade. He looked a little playful as well. "It's very private, I'm afraid. I just can't tell you."

Lillian stuck her tongue out at him and then frowned. "What's the matter?"

Ash's smile froze. "What?"

"You look kind of upset."

Ash hesitated and then laughed, his hands sliding into his pockets in his best attempt at a nonchalant gesture. His spot on the shipping bin suddenly seemed very uncomfortable. He couldn't stop moving around. "I'm not upset."

Lillian watched him fidget for another moment, her frown growing. "Did you and Cam get into some sort of fight?"

They met each other's eyes and Ash finally laughed. "You're as perceptive as ever Lillian. Sometimes I think you know more about me than my very best friend.  
At least…he doesn't seem to notice when he hurts my feelings. Or if he does, he doesn't bother very much with it."

Lillian sat on the shipping bin beside him after he scooted a little bit over upon her gesture. He felt his cheeks grow hot at their proximity, but said nothing. He watched the dirt get picked up every so often by a gentle, faint breeze and move a couple centimeters to the right. The particles that clung to his shoes seemed unaffected, likely glued there by mud. She turned to look at him and said, "What did he say?"

If Ash was surprised earlier by her words, he was absolutely dumbfounded now. He observed her for a few moments to see if there was any sarcasm in those words, but detected none. She was seriously going to take his word. "You really think that Cam hurt me?"

"Well, I don't think you're lying. Why would you?" Lillian said.

The sky overhead looked beautiful. Ash smiled up at the clouds that perforated the air, only allowing a glimpse of light to shine down. When Lillian followed his gaze upwards she had to squint. Ash couldn't recall a single time where the assumption had been that Cam was the one who hurt his feelings and not the other way around.

He was not going to sell out his friend, to drag him through the mud and besmirch him to the girl he liked so. But for just a moment he would take comfort in that girl's words, and he felt the same amount of betrayal in doing so. "I guess I don't really have a reason to lie," Ash said. "Just didn't expect you to think so too."

* * *

Howard was preparing cookies when Cam walked into the kitchen, and looked fully prepared to jovially greet the boy as he always did before he caught his face. Cam's eyes were focused, unfocused, refocused, not on anything around him, but on his own feet as they marched steadily onwards. He hadn't decided what he wanted to do. He hadn't yet begun to consider Ash or Laney's issues – his mind was so utterly wrapped around his issue with Lillian that for the afternoon he had become a selfish stranger to his friends.

"Got something on your mind?" Howard asked, his head tilted to the side and a smile on his painted lips.

Cam glanced at him as though seeing him for the first time. "Uh…I guess."

"What's wrong?"

"Hmm…nothing."

Howard smiled and held out the spoon, coated in batter, to his surrogate son. "Want to try?" he said. "You used to love licking the spoon when you were a kid."

Cam hesitated and took the spoon, though he had absolutely no intention of licking it. He couldn't stand to look at that gentle, caring expression on Howard's face as he extended that spoon of fatherly love. It was the same look he gave Laney when she was looking especially depressed. "Thanks," he said. "This is great."

But the man was not satisfied with this. He continued watching Cam until the moments grew uncomfortable and the florist finally took a quick taste of the batter. Howard beamed at this and said, "Now, tell me what's bothering you."

Cam could not possibly imagine confiding in Howard about a topic such as this. It wasn't that he didn't trust or respect the man – it was that he spoke to _nobody _about this. Even his conversations with Ash were limited and awkward, always hesitating. Confiding a crush to someone was impossible. Cam unconsciously licked the spoon once more as he pondered how he would be able to tell Lillian his feelings if he couldn't even tell Howard.

But Howard would not cease looking at him, patiently waiting for an answer, so Cam gave him one. "I think I hurt Laney's feelings earlier," he said. "She was upset that I broke our plans to go hang out with Lillian last night, and…I feel bad."

The words came out slowly and awkwardly, and that was probably because it was the first time Cam had put actual thought into Laney being upset. According to Ash, Lillian disliked Laney because Laney was so close to Cam – and Cam had to admit that she had seemed fairly curious about his relationship with the blonde. But now that he was saying it, a fear gripped him, suggesting that it worked both ways.

Howard took on a sympathetic expression that suggested the same thing. "Well, perhaps Laney felt like you would rather spend time with Lillian…and perhaps that upset her."

The florist clutched the wooden spoon so tightly he felt a splinter slide into his palm. It stung when he let the spoon go and it clattered onto the counter. "I'll apologize later," he said.

"You should let her know you want to spend an equal amount of time with both of them," said Howard.

Cam looked at the man for a moment and then nodded, hurrying towards the door again. He could suddenly not stand to look at that trusting, kind gleam in Howard's eyes. This was the man who thought of him as his son. This was the man who probably thought that one day he _would _be his son. Cam didn't want to disappoint three people in one day, but he felt that it was too late.

* * *

A calf that was more black than white crossed the pasture once, twice, three times – over and over again, as if pacing. Ash and Lillian watched it together. It relieved their anxiety for them – they never had to move an inch from their seats on a patch of grass. They had considered inviting Georgia to come and sit with them, but neither were sure they'd be able to keep up the conversation. Instead, Ash begrudgingly revealed pieces of his friendship with Cam and Lillian kept up a good ruse of not actually revealing anything about herself.

"You _are _a mystery," Ash said, watching his calf snort in frustration as it looked out past the boundaries of its little nest.

"You sound like you're quoting someone," Lillian said.

Ash glanced at her and smiled. "You know who I'm quoting."

Lillian smiled back at him. "How am I being a mystery? I just don't see an opportunity or reason to throw information about myself out into the conversation. Everything usually seems out of place. I told you and Cam the most important things, anyways."

"All I know about is relationships," Ash murmured, looking past her, towards a bridge of trees that separated their homes from each other. "Tell me about your family."

"Hmm…well, I have a brother named Phillip. I told Cam a bit about this when he told me about his sister. We get along fine, but we're not incredibly close or anything of the sort. My mom knows a lot about plants, and my dad knows a lot about science. They're not doing much work in either of those fields now, though. They started working in my grandfather's business just before I moved here. I guess I left the house after it got a lot less fun."

There was a somber expression on the brunette's face as she related this, and Ash stretched his hand towards her, aiming for her shoulder. He retracted it, and then did it anyways. She looked at him in surprise when she felt the warmth on her right shoulder, and then smiled. "Do you…wish they kept on doing jobs that they loved?" Ash asked her.

Lillian hesitated and then nodded. "Hmm. Yeah, I do. I told you and Cam before…my mother sold herbs that were supposed to have healing properties. The town really appreciated it. My dad did a lot of science work on the background of it. But my brother was struggling to pay for college, and they were having a hard time making payments with the money…so they ended that business permanently a few months before I moved out to go for a job that made better money. It wasn't a huge change or anything – they left and came home at the same time every day and did the same sorts of things and we still had dinner together at night - but we used to have my brother's favorite flower, viscarias, all over the house, and then after they stopped working with plants…gone. It was a pretty weird change."

Ash watched her for a moment as her eyes floated past him, looking at viscarias that hadn't bloomed in her house for over half a year. "Viscarias," he said, his voice soft. "I'm not familiar with those flowers. What do they mean?"

"Hmm? Mean?"

"Yeah…Cam is big on flower meanings, so I guess I am too. I always get curious about what different flowers mean."

Lillian looked at him, a little surprised, and then laughed. "Of course," she said. "They mean 'dance with me,' basically."

Ash promptly got to his feet and held his hand out to her. "Dance with me, then."

"What?"

"Well, why not?"

Lillian's eyes were wide, and she looked away a little guiltily. "Ash…"

"For _fun_," he stressed. "I'd like you to cheer up a little bit, and Laney always says something about how dancing cheers people up."

Lillian hesitated for a moment longer and then took the hand he extended towards her. "Does Laney dance often?"

Ash took both of her hands and twirled her around once and then twice and then dipped her backwards. "Never. Not that I know of, at least."

They both laughed, and he spun her away, catching her hand and pulling her back. Lillian was reluctant initially – reluctant to feel the grass tickling her legs and reluctant to step through the mud and reluctant to sway without music. But that reluctance faded, and soon both of them were laughing and spinning so quickly they weren't surprised at all when they both fell onto the floor, crouched and clutching their stomachs with giggles.

Georgia leaned against the door of the stables, sullenly watching from a distance. They were too busy laughing to notice she was there, and she wasn't sure if she even wanted them to notice her. She had forgiven both of them, she was ready to move past that, she was ready to throw her feelings for Ash away – but those were just words, and she couldn't help but wonder why he had never danced with her to cheer up, and yet willingly offered his hand to the girl his best friend liked. She wondered why he didn't like her, who pined for him so, but liked _her_, who only caused trouble for him.

But that was love, and love was a fickle thing that didn't make any sense whatsoever. Georgia headed towards the cafe, hoping Laney would return soon. Laney would make sense of things. Something had to make sense, after all.

* * *

"Hey, have you seen Lillian?"

"…No."

"Not at all?"

"Nope. I haven't seen her all day. You should just head home, and if I see her, I'll let her know you're looking for her. I think she might be out somewhere."

Cam sighed, shaking his head. "I'll go look for her. I have something I want to tell her. Thanks though, Georgia."

The redhead caught his arm, shaking her head as well. She blocked his path before he could walk around the strange Bluebell monument, and her grip tightened when he turned to her with raised eyebrows. "Shouldn't you look for Laney instead? I heard you hurt her feelings this morning. She's been at the Goddess Pond ever since. Or, wait – no, you shouldn't go after Laney. Let's just go to your place and wait for one of them to show up."

"I can't," Cam said, pulling his arm from her grasp. "I wanted to just…talk to her a bit."

"What, are you going to confess to her?" Georgia asked. Her voice was mocking, and only half kidding.

The florist blushed, recalling that it was _Georgia_ who had tried to tell Lillian he had feelings for her. There was a vindictiveness in her voice that surprised him, but he refused to allow himself to get annoyed with it. He didn't need to add another person to the list of people he had been having an off-day with. "No," he said, his voice firm.

Georgia blocked his path when he tried to walk past her once more. "Then let her be for tonight!" she said, her voice rising.

Cam looked at her for a moment, studying her. Georgia used to always play a game for attention, where she would pretend she didn't want he and Ash to see something, and dodge around the room while they tried to guess what it was. Only now she wasn't playing. He looked over her shoulder towards Ash's home and said, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"What is it?"

"Nothing."

"Georgia."

She looked back at him for a moment and then slid over, gesturing for him to walk past her. "Fine. Go ahead."

They walked together towards Ash's, and he frowned as he saw Lillian and Ash sitting together, laughing and smiling as they relaxed in the pasture. The sun was setting and the cows were still out. One calf danced curiously around the pair, looking quite amused. Cam didn't feel very amused. Not when Ash's hand was overlapping Lillian's.

"Hey," he said. Even he was surprised with how loud his voice rang out. "Can I talk to you real fast?"

"Which one of us?" Lillian asked. She pulled her hand away from Ash's, gesturing to herself and then to him.

Cam looked between the two of them. He wasn't actually sure who he wanted to talk to, but he decided for her. "Uh, you."

Ash met his eyes for a moment and then gestured for her to go. "Your prince awaits," he said, his voice overly cordial as he rose and bowed to them both. "Want to help me get the animals into the barn, Georgia?"

She should have said no. Cam wanted her to turn him down, to go after Laney or return to her home and ignore Ash's request for help. But as much as Georgia said she was going to put her feelings for Ash away, it was not that simple. She nodded and crossed the fence at the same time Lillian did, both girls smiling and saying hi to each other as they went. Cam wondered how much effort it took for Georgia to act so calmly.

"Do you want to come over and have dinner?" Lillian asked. She cupped her hands together and smiled at him, and Cam felt like scolding her. He didn't usually have a hard time scolding her in issues that related to Ash, but this time he found himself nodding and following her towards her farm instead. Lillian had that power over him - the power to make him angry at his best friend, angry at himself, and suddenly willing to dash his feelings open to see if they had any chance of winning her over.

* * *

"I'm sorry if you're sick of having salads with me all the time," Lillian said as she sliced vegetables before her gardenia trimming. "It's what I live off of here."

Her skirt was coated with a thin layer of dirt. The skirt she looked so beautiful in. Cam's eyes trickled down her legs, also lightly dusted from her seat in the pasture. What a shame, to get a brand new outfit and get it dirty that same day. He hadn't expected anything less from her.

"It's okay," he said. His voice was a mumble, barely suppressed, and he heaved himself onto the edge of her counter to watch her prepare their salads. She was taking an unbearably long time. The longer she took, the more he wanted to burst with his questions.

Lillian was good at sensing these things. "What is it?" she asked, setting down he knife. "You've been quieter than usual."

"You're leading Ash on."

"You sure get straight to the chase."

"You were holding hands."

Lillian fixed him with a withering stare. "He put his hand on top of mine for just a moment. We were having such a good time I didn't brush it off immediately. We weren't flirting or anything of the sort – we were just having fun and laughing because he was feeling a little down."

"Why was he feeling down?"

She looked away for a moment and then shrugged. "Who knows? You're his best friend – you're more educated when it comes to him than I am."

She knew, and it was obvious in the way she avoided his eyes for that moment. Cam sighed and slid from his seat on the counter to his feet, watching her as she watched the gardenias, never daring to look in his direction. "What were you laughing so much about, anyways?"

"Does it matter?"

"I'm curious."

"That's a first."

"I get curious plenty of times."

"Now that's just a lie."

Cam smiled though he didn't want to. He didn't want her to see the effect her words had on him. He wanted to continue being angry like he usually was whenever it came to Ash – he knew he should be especially angry this time. But it was not anger he felt towards Lillian. It was an urge to prove to her that he cared for her more than Ash did, it was an urge to get some sort of proof that _she _cared for him more than she cared for Ash. He wouldn't have cared if Ash had been holding her in his arms when he walked around the corner if Lillian would just say it was _him_ that she had feelings for, not the rancher.

"We were dancing," she said. "We were talking about viscarias and he asked me what they meant-"

"And then he asked you to dance," Cam finished.

"Mhm. It seems you _do _know your best friend pretty well." She offered him a smile and then turned to pick up the knife again. She didn't get the chance to. Cam caught her hand, and she turned to him in surprise. "Cam-"

"Will you dance with me, then?"

"There's…no music."

"That wasn't an issue earlier."

"I…" Her words got no further. Her cheeks flared, and she laughed in an embarrassed manner. "I don't know, Cam…"

"I'm not a good dancer, if that's what you're worried about."

"Then why are you asking?!"

"Because…I don't want Ash to be the only person who danced with you."

Lillian's eyes widened, but she did not pull back when Cam tightened his grip on one of her hands and moved the other to her waist. This dance was not as jovial and boisterous as her dance with Ash, which had carried them in circles around the pasture. It was slow and simple and stuttering – they swayed left and right, back and forth. They were not laughing. They hardly even looked the other in the eye. Cam's cheeks were tinged with red, and he looked at the half-prepared salad waiting for them so he didn't have to look at her.

Lillian put her head against his chest, an uncomfortable laugh coming briefly from her lips. "I feel silly, dancing like this without music…"

"I…"

"Hmm?"

"I like you, Lillian."

The brunette pulled away from his chest instantly, meeting his eyes. Their hands were still intertwined, and their free hands were still on their respective places of shoulder and waist. The hand on his shoulder tightened. "You…ah…Georgia told me that, but I thought…I…"

"It's the truth."

Cam clenched his jaw, feeling a wave of humiliation and fear and anxiety wash over him. Was this how Ash felt when he confessed? Lillian was looking at him with such amazement, such shock, that he had no idea what she was going to say. She had known, hadn't she? That's what Ash had said.

"I…didn't think you'd…ever say something like this…"

She looked down at her feet, her cheeks red. So that was why. Even when someone else told her the words directly, she hadn't ever expected Cam to say them, and the words were meaningless if he didn't. Now he had. They were meaningful. They could not be retracted.

"I…didn't think I would either."

* * *

"You know…Cam is going to be upset."

"I don't think so."

Georgia looked at Ash, her eyes narrowed in frustration. "Ash, Cam really likes Lillian. If he gets the wrong idea-"

"That was the point."

"…Excuse me?"

"The point was for him to get the wrong idea. Lillian and I heard you trying to block him from coming to see us, so we thought that _you_ probably saw it as some sort of romantic situation. I told her I was going to spur Cam along a bit."

"You…_what_?"

Ash smiled, patting the back of his favorite calf – mostly black, barely white. It mooed in reply. "Cam wasn't going to admit that he had feelings for her anytime soon, so I wanted…I don't know, I wanted _something _that would hurry up and get them both over their little hold ups. I'm Cam's best friend after all. I can't stand to see him pouting all the time."

He looked over at the crimson haired girl beside him, but she didn't return his grin. It was pity that she looked at him with. "Ash…" she murmured, her fingers hesitating above the calf's head, frozen by her love's words. "What about yo-"

"Don't worry." Ash put his hand on her head, smiling gently at her when she looked up at him. "I'll be fine. If they're happy together, then I'm happy."

Georgia's pity didn't fade. "Ash…earlier, I saw you two dancing-"

"I asked her to dance with me. It was just a game."

"It didn't look like a game, Ash."

"Stop saying my name. It makes it sound like I'm in trouble." His voice was strained, and the usual lilt in it had vanished. There was no glee or humor in his words.

Georgia watched him for a moment. This was the person she loved so dearly. The person she had promised herself she would stop loving. But how do you stop loving someone when they need someone to love them so desperately? She stretched her arms out and wrapped them around Ash's waist.

"Sorry," she said. "I'm sorry."

A string of stammering declinations exited Ash's mouth, and then they were silenced. He finally nodded, setting one hand on her back. "Yeah," he said. "Me too."

* * *

"You look awfully depressed."

"I _am_ awfully depressed."

Mikhail smiled and sat beside the blonde, glancing at the Goddess Pond's cool, reflective waters. "Your father ran into me at the Inn and asked me to come find you. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Laney murmured, pulling her legs up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "Mikhail, do you…have any siblings?"

"Me? Well, I have a sister…"

"Is she older or younger?"

"Older," Mikhail answered, an eyebrow raised as he tried to figure out where exactly Laney was taking this conversation.

"Did you ever get jealous when she stopped spending time with you and started spending time with other people, and getting closer with them?"

Both of Mikhail's eyebrows lifted this time, and then he smiled. "Well…I suppose that is a natural feeling. Not being the most important person in your sibling's eyes anymore…it's a little difficult to swallow."

"Yes," Laney said, her voice soft. "A little too difficult."


	9. Saffron

_**Disclaimer**__: I do not own Harvest Moon or anything associated with it._

_**Author's Note**__: Hey everyone! Thanks for the understanding you showed in my lateness and the kindness of your reviews. I really appreciate all the sweet comments. As always if you have any questions, concerns, requests, comments, or want to talk about anything go ahead and send me a PM, and don't forget to vote in my poll for which story you want to see after I finish this and/or The City (right now a Lillian/Dirk/Anita/Ivan love square is in the lead, but I've got options for Hiro/Lillian, Gray/Claire, Angela/Chase and more that you can all vote on!). Other than that I'm really psyched for you all to read this chapter! Haha, a lot of you guys were talking about how last chapter ended on a cliffhanger, so I'm sure you'll see why this one is fairly interesting. :P I hope to get the next chapter out soon because I'm taking my last two finals today and then I'm out for the semester! And I have to thank all of you for your encouragement about my schoolwork for my first semester of college, it was lovely. Thanks for being so kind! I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and look forward to seeing the next one up faster than usual!_

* * *

_A daffodil can be given to say "you are the only one."_

* * *

_ "Because…I don't want Ash to be the only person who danced with you."_

_ Lillian's eyes widened, but she did not pull back when Cam tightened his grip on one of her hands and moved the other to her waist. This dance was not as jovial and boisterous as her dance with Ash, which had carried them in circles around the pasture. It was slow and simple and stuttering – they swayed left and right, back and forth. They were not laughing. They hardly even looked the other in the eye. Cam's cheeks were tinged with red, and he looked at the half-prepared salad waiting for them so he didn't have to look at her._

_ Lillian put her head against his chest, an uncomfortable laugh coming briefly from her lips. "I feel silly, dancing like this without music…"_

_ "I…"_

_ "Hmm?"_

_ "I like you, Lillian."_

_ The brunette pulled away from his chest instantly, meeting his eyes. Their hands were still intertwined, and their free hands were still on their respective places of shoulder and waist. The hand on his shoulder tightened. "You…ah…Georgia told me that, but I thought…I…"_

_ "It's the truth."_

_ Cam clenched his jaw, feeling a wave of humiliation and fear and anxiety wash over him. Was this how Ash felt when he confessed? Lillian was looking at him with such amazement, such shock, that he had no idea what she was going to say. She had known, hadn't she? That's what Ash had said._

_ "I…didn't think you'd…ever say something like this…"_

_ She looked down at her feet, her cheeks red. So that was why. Even when someone else told her the words directly, she hadn't ever expected Cam to say them, and the words were meaningless if he didn't. Now he had. They were meaningful. They could not be retracted._

_ "I…didn't think I would either."_

* * *

"Lillian."

The brunette stood silently beside her sheep, her fingers lost in its snowy fluff, ignoring its questioning gaze. The gentle itching of the wool on her fingertips made her think of Cam almost, and the gentle way he had taken her hand to dance and how that had been the first time she had been touched in such a way since she had broken up with her boyfriend. A lot of things had made her think of Cam in the two days that had passed since they had danced in kitchen. The day before had been easy – it was a Monday, and nothing could deter Cam from his trips to the city. But now it was a Tuesday, and she felt panic rising in her constantly.

"…Lillian?"

But what was she supposed to say? What was the proper way to reply to someone who had confessed feelings for you? She had thought…she had suspected…but she had never given those thoughts, those suspicions, any real _power_, and so she had been struck dumb when Cam empowered them himself. She thought of the gentle, innocent way that Ash had spoken to her and how anxious and awkward Cam was, and she had to admit that despite the discrepancies she found Cam's to be all the more beautiful. She knelt beside her sheep and took a deep breath in and let that deep breath out. _Ash_. He only made the situation all the more difficult.

"Lillian!"

Say she _did_ accept Cam's feelings…say she shared them…say she wanted a relationship with the florist. Where would that leave Ash? Where would his feelings go? What about Laney? It seemed clear to Lillian at least that her feelings were beyond platonic, or else why would she appear so jealous of the boy who slept downstairs from her? But there was the option of ignorance, of course. Lillian could pretend she didn't know or care about these people's feelings. If she acted solely on her own…what would she have said? Would she have said anything before Cam simply apologized and left the kitchen, even if she had been given weeks to think about it?

"Hey!" Ash's hand caught Lillian's wrist, and he pulled her up to face him. "What's wrong? I've been trying to get your attention for a while, and you've just been zoning out."

"I…what?"

Ash's eyes were hardened with a sorrow she didn't want to see, but he still smiled at the confused expression on her face. "Lillian," he murmured. "You're a real handful. What happened with Cam?"

"What…what makes you think something happened with Cam?"

"Because he's zoning out the same way. I can't get him to talk to me about anything, so I decided to come here. I figured you would know a bit more about whatever happened than me, after all."

Lillian watched him for a moment and then frowned. "I…I really don't…"

Her words sputtered off, and her wrist fell gently back to her side when Ash loosened his grip on it. They hated to see the other look so miserable. It was Ash who spoke first once more, unable to let another second of silence drift between them and push them farther apart. "About Sunday," he said. "I told you I was going to do something to mess with Cam but I didn't tell you what, and if me putting my hand over yours caused you any trouble, then I'll apologize to him and explain the situation. Is that what's wrong?"

The brunette's cheeks flared up, and she shook her head. Ash's eyes widened – he couldn't recall ever seeing Lillian so shaken up. She was confident, bold, brazened, and a good combination of kind and teasing. She was impossible not to like. Even in this uncomfortable, strange sight she was impossible not to like. How did she manage to do that? Was this the Lillian Cam saw when he looked into her violet eyes? Ash felt the urge to touch those reddened cheeks, but choked those feelings down. They would only burden her further.

"No, you don't have to do something like that. I...it's my fault that Cam doesn't feel like talking." Lillian turned away, facing her sheep once more. Staring into its clueless eyes was easier than watching the pain and realization spread across Ash's face.

"Did you…did you turn him down?"

"No."

There was a brief pause, the sound of a sharp breath Ash took in the only noise Lillian heard, and then he asked, "You're not…you didn't…are you two…?"

"No. He told me he liked me and I didn't say anything. Nothing. Nothing at all. We didn't even finish having dinner. I still have our salads in the refrigerator. I didn't know what to do with them." Lillian crouched down and wrapped her arms around her sheep's neck, burying her face in its scratchy wool. "I feel terrible. I should have said _something_. Anything!"

Ash watched her for a moment as she hid her face away in shame, and then he sighed and knelt beside her, putting his hands beneath her arms and heaving her up with him. "Let's go have that dinner then," he said. "And we can talk about what to do next."

"I…what can we do?"

"Oh, come on. There's lots of options at this point. You've just been confessed to. Smile a little, would you?"

"I…"

Ash put his hand gently on her face, and Lillian's eyes flashed open. And then he squeezed her mouth together into a forced smile, and she laughed at the absurdity of the situation. "Stop looking so down," he told her gently, a forced smile on his lips too. "It's going to be fine."

* * *

"Good morning, Cam."

"…Hey Laney."

"Do you want to go out to the Goddess Pond with me and have breakfast? You know…like we always did when we were kids."

"…No thanks."

"I'll go with Mikhail then. He has an older sister, you know. He mentioned that he felt a little jealous when she stopped spending time with him."

"That's too bad."

Laney's fingers ran from the middle of the doorframe to her waist and then she sighed. "Yes," she said. "It's really too bad. I hope you get out of bed soon." Cam murmured something she couldn't quite make out from his spot on his bed, which he had not moved from since he returned home late the night before. She didn't bother asking what was wrong. He would probably decline that question as well. He was good at that. He was good at pretending he didn't owe her any sort of answer, at pretending she wasn't there, at pretending they weren't close.

In the kitchen Howard's lipstick was a shade too bright, but Laney didn't say anything for fear he would take the advice the wrong way. Besides, her thoughts were all wrapped up in Cam. When her father saw her leave his room he chuckled and said, "Were you trying to coax him into spending the morning with you, dear? Don't worry. Cam is a young man. He's bound to go through bouts of being glum."

Being glum. Coaxing him into spending the morning with her. Laney examined her father and saw a flash of amusement in his eyes. Amusement at what he thought was…she laughed and shook her head. Howard wouldn't be the first person to assume Laney's feelings for Cam were romantic, after all.

She strode from the house to the Inn, where she could hear Mikhail playing the violin from the doorstep. Rutger and Rose greeted her, but her reply to them was brief as she hurried to Mikhail's room. She nearly burst right in, the way she always walked into Cam's room without an ounce of hesitation, but something clicked in her and she knocked instead. The violin's music stopped instantly, and a few seconds later he appeared at the door.

"Oh," he said. "Laney. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Laney didn't say anything at first. She had stomped on over to visit Mikhail without truly thinking about it. She had wanted Cam to apologize for not going to the Goddess Pond with her for breakfast like they always used to, but here she was and he hadn't come, and she had to say something. "Do you want to have breakfast with me?" she muttered, a despondent glint in her disappointed eyes. "We can go to the Goddess Pond."

Mikhail looked down at her for a moment and then offered a gentle smile. "Well, sure. I don't see why not. Just give me a moment to put on my coat."

"Er, actually, I have to go…pick up the food real quick, so I'll just meet you there in twenty minutes or so."

"Are you sure?" Laney winced a little, thinking of the food she hadn't even prepared yet. "I could wait for you to gather the food and then walk you there-"

"No no, it's fine!" Laney closed the door he had opened and called through it, "I'll see you in…in _about _twenty minutes then!"

Mikhail listened to her footsteps pounding down the hall with a frown, but couldn't help but smile. "That girl certainly is strange," he murmured, moving back to his bed and picking up the violin. But she was sweet, and gentle. She reminded him, in a way, of playing the violin.

* * *

The sound of the knock on her door was drowned out by the laughter inside. Ash's voice could faintly be heard saying, "Okay, let me try. Lillian, I like you."

"Just…just like that?"

"What, do you want some sort of heartfelt confession? Who do you think you're talking to here?"

Georgia's eyes widened and she pressed her ear up against the wooden slab, straining to hear what Lillian's reply would be. Was Ash seriously going to confess to her only two days after trying to give Cam a push to start dating her?

"I…I can't say it!"

Ash's laughter resonated in the room, and Georgia cringed. She felt terrible for him in that moment. How could he laugh so calmly after that sort of answer? She glanced around the farm at the animals drifting about the pasture, at the chickens pecking the dirt, at the birds that landed on the fence post for only a few seconds at a time before sweeping across the ranch. It was such a lovely day. Georgia felt awful in comparison.

"Just say what you feel. Honestly. Don't worry about what I think or what _she _thinks or anything else. Just say what you feel."  
_  
She_? Georgia covered her mouth, shaking her head. Was he talking about _her_ and telling Lillian not to worry about her feelings? That was absolutely terrible! She clenched her hand in a fist and prepared to knock again, but something stopped her. She wanted, she realized, to hear Lillian's reply.

There was a long moment of silence, and then a soft voice murmured, "I think…I might…have feelings for you…"

Georgia backed away from the door, gaping. She felt the urge to burst into the room and shout at the both of them, but she did neither. She turned to head towards Howard's, thinking of one person who needed to hear what was going on.

* * *

Ash's face relaxed into a smile, but he was sure Lillian of all people would be able to see the dejection he felt. The hand he was resting his head on felt weak, and he rested it upon the table instead. "Now all you have to do is tell Cam that."

Lillian looked across at him and frowned. Of course she could read him instantly. Lillian had a knack for that. She stretched her hand across the table and rested it on his head, and it reminded him so much of his gesture towards Georgia that he wanted to cry. This, he told himself, was what unrequited love felt like. Cold even while being touched. Empty, like nothing would ever fill you again. Not love, not happiness, not warmth. Just hollowness. A hollowness you dragged behind you everywhere you went. And he knew, of course he knew, that eventually it would fade away. He was not melodramatic enough to assume otherwise. But it would take a while, and every day with that wildly uncomfortable sensation would be miserable. Utterly miserable.

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice softer than usual. "Ash…I truly do like you. You're one of the best friends I've ever had. I appreciate everything you've done for me. And I wish…that I could reciprocate your feelings. I hate seeing you so sad, and I feel like I would do anything to cheer you up."

Ash smiled and shook his head. "Don't waste all of this eloquence on me. Cam has been depressed ever since he got back from his trip to the city. You should go talk to him already, or I'll have to dry his tears."

Lillian returned his smile, but even hers looked sad and guilty. "Will you answer my question first?"

"Shoot," Ash replied, sitting up and shaking her hand from his head.

"You do believe me, right, when I tell you that you're my best friend here?"

Ash laughed a little and nodded. "I'd be insulted if I wasn't. Who else plays stupid pretend games like this? Pretending to be Cam is awful. I can't do it right. He's too stoic."

Lillian chuckled with him and then rose to her feet, looking embarrassedly towards the door. "He'll be disappointed. He'll want me to say I totally like him, forever and ever."

"I think anyone would be disappointed if you said that."

She made a face when she looked back at him, but Ash just smiled and rose to his feet, pushing her forward. He leaned around her to open the door and then kept on pushing her through the open space, saying, "It'll be fine, don't worry. Let's go- well, looks like I'll be the only one going."

Cam stood in front of Lillian's house, a nervous expression on his face and eyes that were harsher than usual when he glanced at Ash.

Ash glanced back at Lillian, who looked shocked, and then playfully punched her in the shoulder. "Just like we rehearsed. Come by and tell me all about it later."

He strode past Cam and then stopped when he was next to him, facing the other direction. "Look how we're standing," he murmured, staring ahead at the towns looming before him. Cam faced Lillian and then glanced at Ash out of the corner of his eye, an eyebrow raised.

"What about it?"

"This is how we're always going to be standing."

With that, Ash continued on, his hands in his pockets and his shoulders slumped forward. Georgia was sitting on the shipping bin around the corner when he came, and frowned at him. "Why do _you _look so depressed?"

"Why do I look so depressed?" Ash mimicked, his voice hot. "I look so depressed because I just convinced the girl I like to confess to the guy she likes, Georgia. That's why…I look so depressed."

"But I overheard-"

Ash frowned at her for a moment, puzzled, and then laughed and shook his head. "Eavesdropping is an awful habit. It leads to misunderstandings. No, Georgia. I didn't confess and my feelings weren't accepted. I think I was rejected without even saying a word, in fact. I was lucky enough to hear one of the stupid spiels I always give you."

Georgia stared at him, stunned. "Ash…"

He approached her and then put his hand on her head and told himself, _one last time_. "I'm sorry, Georgia. I'm so sorry for everything I put you through."

He expected her to get angry at him – to snap and to show him the cruelty he knew she was capable of. The vicious side of her she oftentimes suppressed for him and let loose on others because of him. He wanted her to yell at him and tell him that the apology was too late and that it wasn't good enough and why hadn't he given such an appropriate one earlier?

But it seemed that while he was focusing all of his attention on another, she had managed to mature just a little. Georgia smiled up at him and nodded. "You're right. Eavesdropping is a bad habit." She rose to her feet and his hand fell back to his side, and she put a hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture he rarely got from her. "It's okay," she murmured. "I forgive you."

"…You do?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

Georgia looked away for a moment and then shrugged. "Because…you're my friend and we're going to be neighbors for a long time, I hope, and I want those times together to be fun. I always want to have fun with you and everyone else here."

Ash studied her for a moment and then smiled, his head tilted to the side. "Somehow…I feel like I'm looking at a completely different person."

"You'll change too," Georgia told him, her voice calm. "Heartbreak does that to people."

Ash's eyes widened, and then the smile returned to his face. He pretended to stagger backwards and then placed a hand over his chest. "Ouch…that stings."

Georgia made a face and then gestured around the corner. "Let's go riding."

"That's your solution for everything, isn't it?"

"Just shut up, Ash."

He grinned and walked after her, but he stopped just before they moved out of sight of Lillian's ranch. She and Cam were no longer standing out front – they had probably moved in, where the empty dishes that had once held Lillian and Cam's dinner were still sitting on the table. It wasn't regret that stabbed at him – he was glad he had helped Lillian and Cam, and glad that his selfishness had been suppressed. But it was something else…a bizarre mixture of hope and anger and simple misery that remained in him as he watched.

And then Georgia grabbed his wrist and pulled him forward, and he drove that feeling out of his mind. He would probably have to do that a lot in the seasons to come, he told himself. It was best to start practicing as soon as possible.

* * *

"This looks lovely, Laney." Mikhail smiled at the blonde as he lowered himself onto the checkered tablecloth, looking at the assortment of mostly desserts laid out before him. "How kind of you to put it all together."

"Thank you," she answered simply, kneeling beside him and gesturing towards the food. "Go ahead and have whatever you'd like."

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and smiled. Obviously something was troubling her, but try as he might he had been unable to pry the answer from her as she had set up their picnic. His eyes roved around their radiant surroundings until landing promptly on a flower beside the Goddess Pond itself. It leaned so close to the water one petal skimmed across the surface. He put a hand on Laney's shoulder and pointed, asking, "Do you see that flower?"

"The purple one?"

"That very one."

"Hmm. It looks really unique."

Mikhail smiled at her and said, "I ran into Cam here once and had perhaps the only conversation we've ever shared, and it was about that flower. He told me plenty of things about it. Do you want me to tell you?"

Laney looked at him in surprise and then smiled. "Sure."

"A saffron has several meanings. One of them is like…a plea for mercy, you could say. Like the flower itself is asking to be handled with care. But of course, they're also given to show happiness." Mikhail moved his hand from Laney's shoulder and picked the flower up without a second's hesitation, returning to her side and gently sliding it into the bun in her hair. "And that is why they're usually given to new friends, or new lovers."

The blonde's cheeks heated up quickly, and Mikhail smiled at her and then turned to the food once more. "Strawberry shortcake? I heard you're quite proficient at this dish in particular."

"Uh, yes. People say I am."

"Cam was the one who told me. The two of you are quite like brother and sister, aren't you?"

Laney's eyes drooped down to a cookie she pulled from a plate, and she shrugged. "I always thought we were, but as Cam grows older…he shows less and less interest in me…"

Mikhail smiled and took a bite of the cake. "Well, I think that perhaps Cam is just caught up in his own personal feelings and thoughts lately. Once everything is settled, I believe he'll return to being like family to you."

"What if he gets a girlfriend? I mean, I hate to sound like Cheryl, but…" Laney sighed, and shook her head. "Cam has lived downstairs from me my whole life. He's the brother I always wanted. We always talked together and had meals together and played together and I thought it would always continue. But now I'm realizing…it's going to end eventually. He'll find someone he'd rather spend time with and all the time we spent together will be eclipsed."

Mikhail set the plate he was holding down and faced her. "You don't really believe that, do you Laney? You can't possibly think that all of your time spent with Cam can fade away so simply, right? Because that's not so. You were right about one thing - you two have always been together. You _four _have always been together, haven't you? And I believe that won't change, no matter who begins to date who. Those times won't be erased. New memories will be made, but I think everyone will look fondly back on the time they spent together…and you'll be able to spend plenty more time together as long as you all live close by and put some effort into seeing each other."

Laney looked at him for a moment and then murmured, "So you think…when things calm down…we'll be able to see each other and talk to each other like we always have again? All four of us? No matter what happens, or whose feelings are hurt?"

"Every time I have come to Bluebell, I've marveled at the friendship between the four of you. A bond that strong won't disappear. I honestly believe so."

"Then I will too." Laney smiled at him and set about serving herself a piece of strawberry shortcake. Mikhail just smiled at her, watching tenderly, until she hesitated and murmured, "Thank you, Mikhail. For everything."

She didn't look at him, but her cheeks were still tinted red and the smile lingered on her lips. "Of course," Mikhail replied. "Thank _you_ for the meal."

And so they set to eating all of the sweets Laney had prepared while the strange saffron flower placed in her hair blew in the breeze.

* * *

"I heard something I didn't really believe, so I guess…I came here to disprove it."

"Well," Lillian said, pushing her door open. "By all means, disprove."

His footsteps were silent as he approached the door and entered. Cam looked at the door frame as he passed by and remembered how Lillian had rested her hand against his there, and he looked at her bed and thought of how he had sat between her and her stuffed rabbit Poppy, and he glanced at the spot in the kitchen where they had danced. When had he made so many memories with Lillian? He remembered thinking that he would never understand her, and now found that the same was true, and that in knowing that, he understood her perfectly. He knew that she would surprise him in some way, and he knew better than to look for some ulterior motive. Perhaps he simply knew her.

This was Lillian standing before him. She was his friend, she was the girl he cared for, and that was all he needed to know. Cam sighed and then said, "Georgia told me Ash said he liked you and you said you liked him too."

Lillian put her face in her hands, laughing, and shook her head. "She completely misunderstood what happened."

"So…what happened?"

"Ash was just talking to me."

Cam was quiet for a moment and thought of Ash's parting words. That he would always be looking away from Lillian while Cam was always looking towards her. "He seemed…pretty upset," he murmured, a pang of sympathy striking him. He hadn't really thought that Lillian would suddenly accept Ash's feelings, but he had doubted his best friend. That doubt now felt twisted and it made him guilty. Ash was stronger than he had ever imagined. How had everyone managed to change in such a brief time? Laney, Georgia, Ash, and Cam himself. Perhaps Cam especially.

Lillian pulled her hands from her face and nodded, a grimace on her lips. "I hate that all I do is upset him. I really wish I could be a better friend towards him. I wish I could make him smile rather than frown all the time."

"Yeah."

"If I'm being eloquent, you have to too."

Cam smiled and shook his head. "I…don't have anything to say."

"Why not?"

"I already said everything I wanted to."

Lillian's cheeks colored, and she looked down at the table. She cleared the two empty salad bowls and walked towards the kitchen. Cam's quiet footsteps sounded on the wooden floor as he followed her, and he stood beside her as she set to washing the bowls. Cam silently urged her to say something, anything, anything at all – his mouth had run dry two days ago, and he had been waiting in agony for a reply from her ever since. He was beginning to wonder if he was ever going to get one.

"Cam…" Lillian murmured, dropping the dishes into the sink. "Do you really-"

"Yes."

Lillian nodded as though she wasn't even surprised by his interruption, though he so rarely did such a thing. "Since when?"

Cam looked away, quiet, and then shrugged. "I think since the first day I met you."

"When I was crying?"

"Yeah."

Lillian laughed, running a hand through her hair. "That's embarrassing. Can't you come up with a better moment? Like…when we shared a salad in Konohana or when I helped you out with your flower stand."

"Those times too."

"It has to be just one."

"Every time I spend with you, I like you more. So every time we see each other…it's like I start falling for you all over again."

Cam continued to look away, feeling his cheeks heat up as he studied the door so he didn't have to look at her. He had heard the sharp intake of breath and that was reply enough for him. "Why didn't you tell me?" she mumbled. "Any of those times, I mean?"

"I knew you'd turn me down."

"You sure are talking a lot today."

"I told you before, I talk when I have something to say. When I don't, I don't talk."

Lillian smiled and stared into the sink, turning the faucet off. The half-clean dishes slowly tipped the water they had collected into the drain. "Why were you so positive I would turn you down?" she asked. Her voice was uncharacteristically quiet and somber.

Cam's was uncharacteristically driven and purposeful. "You turned Ash down and I had always thought you liked him. Then, when I found out that you had just gotten out of a long relationship with someone else before you moved here, I didn't think you would ever…it seemed pointless."

"Pointless," Lillian repeated.

"You're quieter than usual."

Lillian laughed and looked over at him, nodding. "But it's not because I don't have anything to say. I have a lot of things to say."

"Like what?"

"Cam," she murmured, looking away and then forcing herself to look back at him. Her hands rose to where her second button would have been in her original Bluebell outfit and then settled at her waist instead. "When I moved here, I wanted to find a place where I didn't have to deal with any sort of relationships. I was really disappointed when Ash confessed to me. I didn't want to be hurt or hurt someone else. I was still hurt. For the my ex-boyfriend and I to agree to break up after all that time-"

"You agreed?"

"Yes."

"I always thought you were dumped."

"Lovely."

"I mean-"

"I was devastated to lose someone I was so close to, but both of us had stopped feeling the same by then. We grew up together, but we didn't grow to the same place."

"Oh."

Lillian's lips turned up once more and she moved to the center of her room, taking a seat on one side of the table. Cam sat to her right, his hand resting on top of the light tablecloth, only inches away from her own. She leaned forward, staring focusedly at her hands, and then said, "I think I grew up to find the same place you grew up to be in."

Cam's eyes widened, and he looked at her in shock. "You…what?"

"I…didn't want to get into any sort of relationship when I came here. Losing someone I had spent so much time with was awful, and I didn't want to go through that again. I thought I had chosen to do something that would never give me the same opportunity…but as much as you frustrated me at times, and as strange as our friendship was…I really grew to treasure it."

Cam's fingers stretched out slightly and brushed against the side of her hand. Lillian, in turn, slowly stretched her own fingers out until his overlapped hers. They sat together in silence for a moment, their fingers resting against each other, until Cam asked in a low voice, "Are you saying that you…actually return my feelings?"

"Yes." Lillian nodded, her cheeks burning. "I never thought I would grow to like you, but I think that you and I have a lot in common, and I like spending time with you, Cam. More than anything. I really do like you."

"Since when?"

Lillian laughed at the use of the question against her and shrugged. "I don't know. It's hard to pinpoint it. Maybe it was when you found me crying, or maybe it was when you sat on my bed and pulled Poppy's stitching up into a smile."

"So it was Poppy."

She laughed again and rested her head atop their hands, her red cheeks showing beneath the cascade of hair that broke free from its prison behind her ears. "That's it. I love you because you love Poppy."

Cam stared at her for a moment and then smiled, moving his hand slightly so that he was fully holding hers. "That's fine," he said. "I'll take it."

Her shoulders shook with laughter, and when she looked up at him, he felt that he was truly, honestly seeing a real smile. He was the only one to see the real Lillian.

And she smiled at him as if she felt the same way.


End file.
